Expecting the Unexpected
by Cometstrike
Summary: Sequel to Beach Stalkers and Shootin' the Breeze. Things are beginning to heat up for the duo as they are forced into yet another precarious situation-and they don't know who's silently attacking them from all over the place. When Ratchet is unable to investigate himself, Clank tries to find the perpetrator to all of their problems-including one they thought they solved before.
1. A Chip on My Shoulder

Kyzil Plateau, Veldin

11:43 AM

"Clank. Wrench."

"Wrench. Got it."

"…and the new nose cone. I need that."

"Retrieving."

Clank got down from the workshop bench, walking across their garage to get the requested items. As he moved away from his friend, he turned and gave the lombax's back a brief, worried expression. Ever since they'd found Aphelion wrecked and mangled about a week ago, Ratchet had been unusually quiet and reserved. Ever since then, he'd done nothing but work on her in their garage on Veldin. They'd moved from Metropolis to here, taking all of their weapons and gadgets with them and leaving an almost empty apartment behind. Ratchet had insisted that they move immediately-whoever had attacked the infobot and Aphelion was obviously trying to impose some sort of fear into the duo-big surprise, considering their recent shot to infamy. So they had called Sasha to help them port everything to Veldin, and the cazar also did them a favor and got their old Star Explorer out from her ship hangar, so they would have some form of transportation. The spaceship was still in tip-top shape thanks to the Galactic Rangers taking care of it all those years.

"Clank?" Ratchet called impatiently. The robot had paused halfway back across the room with the Omniwrench and nose cone in his hand, thinking.

"Coming." Clank replied, making it over to Ratchet and handing him the items. The lombax took them both silently, not looking at the robot.

"Thanks." Ratchet said expressionlessly; he got up, stumbling slightly as he drifted over to where Aphelion was being held up by garage jacks attached to the ceiling. He got flat on his back, right underneath the general area of Aphelion's nose-and yes, general pretty much summed it up-and used his wrench in a attempt to fasten the nose cone on.

Clank couldn't see how Ratchet could repair Aphelion. She was damaged so, so badly-the person who vandalized her wanted to make sure that it would almost be impossible to fix her. Ratchet was a good rocket mechanic, one of the best around, and definitely had some experience, but…

The robot hung his head. He highly doubted that Ratchet could repair her and have her working at complete efficiency again. Clank looked unhappily at their damaged friend. Unlike Ratchet, he was more saddened by this than upset.

"Why?" He found himself asking, quietly. "I do not understand."

He heard Ratchet's wrench pause for a second, then clatter loudly on the ground as the lombax threw it down next to him. Clank watched in surprise as the lombax got out from underneath the ship, then stand up looking down at him with slightly creased eyebrows. Clank titled his head to the side, confused. Before the robot could ask anything, Ratchet spoke:

"Clank, I'm sorry."

"Hm?" the robot asked, tilting his head even more.

Ratchet came near then kneeled down next to Clank, putting a hand on the robot's shoulder. "I'm sorry, buddy. I've been ignoring you this past week, haven't I?"

Clank frowned. "Do not DARE assume that you are inflicting any form of stress on me."

Ratchet mirrored the robot's expression, indignant. "Yeah, but it's still not right of me. I've barely spoken to you-and when I do, I'm snappy and impatient. And I'm sorry for that."

"You are all right, Ratchet. You just needed some time to think." Clank answered. No way was he going to let this seem like it was Ratchet's fault. It wasn't anybody's fault.

It was just…

"-kinda strange how this one Dark Horse is causing us so much trouble, huh?" Ratchet said, unknowingly finishing Clank's thoughts. "You know what? That's it! What am I doing?" He looked around, grabbed his wrench in one hand and Clank's hand in his other, and paraded from the garage.

"Yes, I am wondering the same thing!" Clank stuttered, stumbling along behind Ratchet as the lombax tugged him along. "Where are we going?"

"To check on the infobot. I finished repairing him, but he was outta juice," Ratchet said, pulling Clank to their bedroom. The infobot was fully repaired, sitting on the dresser on some sort of glowing platform. Ratchet and Clank stopped in front of it.

"…so I just had to jumpstart him with a few volts." Ratchet finished, staring at the unactivated robot with satisfaction. "After he wakes up, he'll be his old self. Then afterward, we'd have to wait until he recovers all of his memory."

"How long will he need to sleep?" Clank asked, raising his hands up; Ratchet reached down, then picked him up and set him on the dresser with the infobot so he could get a better look.

"About several more days," Ratchet sighed, his shoulders drooping. "…he's coming along, but slowly-" Suddenly he bared his teeth, growling irritably as he swiped something away with his ear. "Jeez, we have a bug problem or something? I swear I've had to bat away like, dozens of them this past week. AND I'VE TAKEN A SHOWER." He said quickly at Clank's nagging expression.

"How many? You've been in the garage for most of the time." Clank questioned.

"Uh, like…I dunno," Ratchet shrugged. "At least one, I know. But-tell me, what type of bug loves the smell of motor oil, gas, and sweaty lombax?"

"Touché. We may need to call a bug exterminator," Clank said, hopping down. "We do not want a repeat of the whole Blargian Gnat infestation, do we?"

"All because that damn paparazzi couldn't control her freakin' bugs," Ratchet muttered darkly. "Ugh, they were everywhere-I think I swallowed one when it flew into my cup of orange juice. Wait, why the hell did she have two cages of Blargian Gnats with her in the first place?"

"Well, you shouldn't have let her in the house!"

"I thought she'd come to deliver the pizza!"

_Ding dong._

Ratchet's head whipped to the door. "Speaking of pizza…"

"You ordered pizza? When, I thought you were in the garage the entire day!"

Ratchet tapped his chest. "Slim gave me the number to the pizza place for my Navunit."

Clank frowned. He had never really taken a liking to Slim Cognito. But admittedly, the mysterious black market salesman had given them good weapons and helped Clank out when Ratchet was in jail.

"Wasn't Slim Cognito in Zordoom prison?"

Ratchet paused at the door, his hand on the knob. He furrowed his eyebrows, turning to Clank slowly. "Yeah…I bumped into him on Cobalia when I was getting Gelatonium. I was sure it was him-I mean, it sounded like him, and I only saw his eyes, like the usual. Ah, you know. He always has some way of escaping the law."

The doorbell rang again, this time repeatedly.

"All right, all _right_, here I come!" Ratchet called impatiently, tromping off.

Clank heard the door open, a pause, then Ratchet yelling,

"OOF! SON OF A GUN, PUT ME DOWN!"

"Ratchet?!" Clank asked, running to the door. He saw Qwark standing in the doorframe, hugging a very irritated lombax to his side.

"What do you want, Qwark? If you can't tell, we're _kinda_ trying to lay low now!" Ratchet told him.

"Uh, yeah but I have to show you guys something-" The superhero said, his eyes darting all over. Clank watched him, getting an odd feeling.

"Show us something?" Ratchet asked, "Dude, the last time you _showed me something,_ I ended up crocked and slept with my best friend!"

If robots could blush, Clank sure as hell would've been doing just that.

At this, Qwark's eyes lit up. "Really? I did? You did?"

"Uh, yeah, if I remember through my drunken haze, you were there when Clank and I were in the bed!"

"Want to talk more about it? I uh, don't remember what happened." Qwark asked eagerly.

Ratchet sucked in a breath. "Hell. _No._"

"Well then come on, I have to uh, show you guys something on Catacrom Four!"

"I would ask what it is, but-" Ratchet paused, remembering. "Wait-Catacrom Four? Clank," He looked down at the robot, who'd joined them, "Isn't that were me, Merc, and Green were sent for one of our Dreadzone campaigns? Actually, wasn't that our_ first_ one?"

"If my memory banks serve me correctly, yes, it is."

At this, Ratchet's suspicious nature flared up. He glared sideways at Qwark, who uncharacteristically avoided his gaze. "Qwark, why are you trying to take us to the _Shadow Sector?_ We didn't exactly have the best of times there."

"Uh, I found this…uh, abandoned weapons hangar and I believe that there may be criminal activity there."

"So why not call galactic authorities? Why do we have to be dragged into everything?!"

"Because, you annoying space rat," Qwark dropped Ratchet, folding his arms and glaring at the lombax, "I need for you two to make sure nothing's going wrong there! How can I trust galactic authorities to get the job done?"

Ratchet and Clank stared at him, shocked to say the least by his suddenly aggressive tone. Then Ratchet bellowed, "SPACE RAT? Listen, buddy, I've had enough of people calling me that-"

"Ratchet, let us just go." Clank said, putting a hand on the lombax's arm. Ratchet looked down at him. "Clank, wha-"

"Just think of it this way. The sooner we go look at whatever he wants us to look at, the sooner he'll be out of your hair." Clank told him reassuringly.

Growling, Ratchet balled his fists hard, trying to suppress the urge to just punch the god damn smirk of Qwark's face.

"Fine. Let's _go_."

* * *

Catacrom Four

12:30 PM

"Well, here we are, guys!" Qwark said cheerfully, landing them down.

"Bite me." Came the response from the passenger side.

"That's hardly the right attitude," Qwark said, exiting the ship. He turned to see Ratchet still sitting, glaring straight ahead with his arms folded. "So, you coming?"

"Come on, Ratchet." Said a dismembered voice, from somewhere behind the passenger seat. The lombax sat for a few more seconds, then got out of the ship as well, going to stand a good ten feet away from Qwark. The green superhero raised an eyebrow at the sullen lombax.

"I suppose you're not concerned about your lack of artillery?"

At this, Ratchet smirked, lifting his wrench up. "I…have my Omniwrench." Under his breath, he muttered, "And that's all you know."

"All right, so let's get moving!" Qwark said, beginning to walk away. Ratchet looked down at Clank.

"Clank, this _sucks._"

* * *

**_A/N_**

**_Previews for next chapter. I'll post lines from every proceeding chapter onto the current one. _**

_**...**_

**_"Down there, see?" Qwark asked. Ratchet copied his hand movements, inching close to the edge of the cliff to peer down._**

**_"Where?" Ratchet asked. "I can't see through this mist…Clank, can you do a scan for heavy artillery?" _**

**_... _**

**_"Qwark! Qwark, can you hear me? Oh, he did not bolt on us!"_**

**_..._**

**_ "Crap, I can't see the bottom! It's like we're falling through the freaking sky!"_**

**_"Ratchet! The ground is 50 cubits below us!" Clank called over the rushing wind._**

**_"Great! So 75 more feet down and we'll be dead!" Ratchet hollered._**

**_..._**

**_And that's it for chapter two previews._**


	2. Cliff Hanging

_One hour later_

"For Pete's sake, where's this stupid weapons facility?" Ratchet complained. "We've been walking for an hour, and I haven't seen anyone!"

Qwark didn't answer; he merely glanced back at them, then quickened his pace. Ratchet tailed him closely. "Ah, hello? Earth to green turd?"

"Just in a few more minutes…." Qwark said suddenly, in a falsely cheerful tone that was caught by both Ratchet and Clank, and the duo turned their heads to exchange exasperated expressions.

They silently continued on for a few minutes, until Qwark stopped at what appeared to be a steep alcove-but as the duo got closer they saw that they were walking on a very steep cliff face. They were so high up that all they could see for miles ahead was just a sea of white mist.

Qwark shielded his eyes with one hand, looking at the vast white plain that stretched out in front of him. Ratchet stopped next to him, and the superhero was annoyed to see him holding that dumb wrench. He inched backwards inconspicuously, so that he was a bit behind Ratchet without catching Clank's immediate attention.

Qwark pointed down with his left hand. Ratchet copied his hand movements, inching close to the edge of the cliff to peer down. "Careful, the mountains here don't have a very hard composition. The slightest impact can make a large piece of cliff fall. Now, do you see the facility?" Qwark asked the lombax.

"Where?" Ratchet asked. "I can't see through this mist…Clank, can you do a scan for heavy artillery?"

Qwark inched backwards even more as Clank unlatched himself and went to the edge, a little far out than Ratchet, and the lombax extended a protective hand out for him.

The green superhero looked at the watch-like counter on his wrist that he'd made. It was embedded into his suit, invisible to others but himself. And now, he'd activated it, waiting and watching.

_Thirty seconds, twenty nine, twenty eight seconds…_

"Scanning…hold on a minute, the high levels of condensation in the air is interfering with the signal…" Clank bent over, frowning in slight concentration. Ratchet sat up, on his heels.

_Fifteen, fourteen seconds…_

"Anything yet?"

"I am not picking up any signs of weaponry…however…" Clank paused.

_Ten, nine…_

"I am doing a bio scan and it shows a large amount of organic life forms down below…"

"Huh? Organics? Hmm…"

_Five, four…_

"…Odd…there was just a surge in their numbers. A very drastic change..." Clank muttered, getting slightly worried even they were safe from the dangers below.

At the same time the timer reached zero, it sent out a wave of invisible, undetectable energy that spread out for a thirty yard radius.

Qwark nonchalantly looked up just in time to see a hand reach up out of the ground, then grasp the lombax's ankle. Ratchet turned around quickly in surprise-almost falling off the edge of the cliff.

"What the hell?!-Clank,_ watch it_-robot zombies! OW!" He cried out in pain as the hand increased the grip on his ankle. Clank equipped his geo laser, then brought his arm down in a sweeping motion in front of them-successfully separating the hand from Ratchet's ankle. Unfortunately the beam also cut through the little ground that separate them from the deep abyss below-effectively screwing them over as it gave away instantly. The duo looked at each other, then screamed simultaneously as they scrabbled for the cliff that Clank hadn't sliced off. The robot grabbed Ratchet's shoulders tightly, and the lombax was barely hanging on to the edge of the cliff. Breathing heavily, Ratchet tried pulling them up, but only succeeded in pulling away loose dirt and making them sink down further. Stifling a shriek, he lowered his head and closed his eyes. Waiting for a few seconds he slowly sucked in a breath and called, "Qwark!"

No answer.

"Qwark, can you hear me?"

No answer.

Ratchet dared to lift his head up, and he didn't see anyone or anything. "Oh, he did not bolt on us!"

"Ratchet, can you pull yourself up?" Clank asked nervously, looking down into the white mist that was entirely below them. Right now, the bioscan was telling him that the organics hidden below in the mist surpassed one hundred. What had caused them to spontaneously appear so suddenly?

"Ah, I already tried-_Qwark!_" Ratchet called, as he saw the superhero suddenly make an appearance. "Can you-can you help us up? We're kinda-" He fell silent, reading Qwark's expressionless face. The green superhero was standing right at the cliff edge, in the right position to pull them up. But he wasn't even attempting to help- and Ratchet felt his sixth sense kicking in. His vigilance kicked in for the green superhero as he saw their vulnerability to him, and subconsciously Ratchet began to get uneasy. He felt Clank shift on his shoulders.

Ratchet opened his mouth to say the superhero's name again-then the words stuck in his throat as he saw a blaster leveled at his hands. Behind the barrel, he saw a crazily triumphant look on Qwark's face; the lombax's stomach dropped nervously.

"Q-Qwark. What are you-"

The blaster fired right at Ratchet's hands.

Swearing loudly, Ratchet lost his grip briefly-then regained it with his right hand, turning his head away hissing as pieces of blasted off cliff struck him in the face. His left hand had taken the brunt of the force, and the robot on his back was shocked to see that Ratchet's glove had been partially blown off, then fur underneath heavily burnt. "Ratchet!"

The lombax gasped as the edge of the cliff he was holding gave away even more, making them sink down even further. He was literally hanging on by his fingertips on a particularly sturdy edge; but even as he hung there he could feel it crumbling away slowly under his and Clank's weight. He gazed up at Qwark with a darkened expression, also letting him know he wasn't going down that easily.

Qwark sighed, then charged up his blaster again. "Like, really, you are so persistent! Do I need to shoot your hands again to make you fall or do I just have to sit and wait here?"

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Ratchet asked angrily, wincing as his left hand throbbed with pain. His strained expression turned back into one of rage as he saw Qwark smirking down at him. "I don't know what's your problem, but you better believe I'm comin' after you-"

"-Yeah, if you survive the fall and then aren't completely ripped to shreds at the bottom by killer zombies."

"Ratchet, we are slipping down!" Clank said worriedly, gripping Ratchet's shoulders tightly and looking down again at the sea of white mist. He saw Ratchet's left hand twitch next to him.

"I-I can't keep my grip. My left arm-" Ratchet sucked in a breath, then tried moving it. "-it's paralyzed. And I can't pull us up."

"Here, let me help you with that," Qwark said, then fired another shot at Ratchet's remaining hand. The lombax yelped in pain, then in surprise as the cliff edge gave away and they plummeted down. Qwark waved down at them. "See you guys later! Well, I'll just see what's left of you, I mean!"

**_"Son!-of!-a!-biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-"_** Ratchet screamed as he and Clank fell down into the abyss. Only after several seconds Qwark didn't hear anything. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles. Striking a pose, he said one word-

"_Owned_."

* * *

"_**-iiiittttccchhhhhhhhh!**_" Ratchet finally finished, as he and Clank were still falling seconds later. "Crap, I can't see the bottom! It's like we're falling through the freaking sky!"

"Ratchet! The ground is 50 cubits below us!" Clank called over the rushing wind.

"Great! So 75 more feet down and we'll be dead!" Ratchet hollered, twisting in the air so that he was in a swan dive. "Clank, hold on! Wait, I can still move my right arm a bit-lemme see if this works-"

He brandished his wrench with his trembling right hand, then plunged it as hard as he could into the side of the cliff. The impact jarred his already paralyzed and injured hand and the metal instrument sank into the moist rock, slowing their descent as it was dragged down. Ratchet grunted, feeling shockwave coursing through his arms; biting his tongue, he ignored the pain and called, "Clank, how much further?"

"40 feet!" Clank said-and then they felt themselves jerk to a rather rough stop completely. The lombax, dangling from his lodged wrench, looked up. "What the-why'd we stop falling?" He sighed, rolling his eyes. "Whatever. It's not like this can get any worse, right? We're stuck on a flippin' cliff and I can barely hold onto my wrench as it is and we can't even see the bottom! But good thing that the rock comp here isn't tough."

"Well, that's good, isn't it? Being stuck up here? We could still be falling," Clank told him, but in the next second Ratchet sucked in a deep breath and exclaimed, "Hoe-lee_ sheeit._"

The robot looked up at the lodged wrench-and saw that a disembodied glowing, green hand was holding it in place on the cliff. "What-"

"I think the zombies found us," Ratchet deadpanned, then his eyes widened as more hands came out of the cliffside, reaching and grabbing for the duo. Ratchet pulled away from the hands tugging at his ears and kicked away any that just happened reach for his back where Clank was. "Geez! Clank, how the heck do we get out of this!"

Clank felt cold hands on his back.

"Uh oh." The robot muttered, then started doing the only thing he could do-batting away anything that tried reaching for him. One wrong move, and he could lose his grip on Ratchet's shoulders. But even with the duo fighting off the dead robots the best that they could, they became overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of them. Only in seconds they were outnumbered by a dozens arms and hands grappling for them.

"Owch!" Ratchet cried as something violently grabbed his tail. "Let go-"

In the next second, the hand yanked the lombax down-making him lose his already weak grip on the wrench. Ratchet and Clank yelled in surprise as they were inverted, then Ratchet sucked in a deep breath as he realized that they were hanging upside down, forty feet in the air, by a hand coming out of a cliff that was holding his tail.

"Clank?" Ratchet muttered, and the robot, still hugging his back, nonchalantly replied, "Yes?"

"This sucks. _My ass_."

The hand released them.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

As they dropped through the sky head first, they immediately saw the ground rushing up to them through the mist. Clank held on tightly to Ratchet's shoulders, then pulled his body back the best he could and deployed the Helipack blade on his head. That slowed them down fairly much-enough for them to not be _seriously_ injured (or _die_, at least) from slamming into the ground at full speed-but without the support of the other two blades their descent wasn't as supported; Taking his chances, Ratchet followed up and stretched out his right hand as they neared the ground-and hit it, hissing as he felt his dulled hand strike the ground, definitely breaking it-but he still managed to propel them forward, using his momentum. His right shoulder hit the ground soon after his hand-and they rolled forward painfully on the rough ground for several yards before slamming into the side of a rocky bluff; Ratchet smashed hard into the side, knocked out instantly, and three feet away, the exact thing happened to the robot as he crashed, back first. The robot saw the rocky terrain swimming in his eyes before he passed out.

* * *

"…..."

Clank opened his eyes. Blinking several times to get his visual processors recalibrated, he realized that he'd crashed into something hard. Then he remembered.

"Ah, yes, we were betrayed by Qwark-and then we fell…" Clank muttered aloud. "…and were attacked by those ghost zombies and fell-and that's when-" He looked around-and saw Ratchet lying on his side with his back facing him. The robot's mouth opened in shock as he then noticed a reddish-brown splatter on the rock above the lombax's body-that must've been where he hit the cliff side. Getting up quickly, Clank ran over. "Ratchet!"

He went around and saw that his friend's eyes were closed; one ear had lopped over his face partially, and the robot moved it gently, folding it behind Ratchet's head. Clank looked down, stepping back in shock as he saw the right side of Ratchet's suit drenched in blood-he hadn't been wearing any type of armor that day, just his pilot suit-and he hadn't had any protection. Clank moved forward, then carefully moved the lombax on his back, and then he saw where the blood was coming from-there was a gash in his right arm. It looked like he'd hit the rocks with his side first.

"It is a good thing that he positioned himself to hit his side instead of his head-that wouldn't have been good at all." Clank muttered to himself. "I need to stem the flow with something-maybe I have-" He reached into his chest compartment, then was overjoyed to see that he had an orb of Nanotech stored in it. "I knew it would be good to keep this for emergencies…" Wasting no time, he pulled it out and let the small nanomachines drift to Ratchet's wound.

"There-that should-" Clank began, then stopped dead as he heard a high pitched shrieking noise from behind him.

He whirled quickly, and saw about a dozen of small, green, two legged creatures that had suddenly appeared; They had a giant horn protruding from the top of their head, and one each were their eyes should've been. As he watched, they all cried out again simultaneously in a very annoying and high pitched noise-and more of them appeared. They formed a line, moving towards the duo slowly.

"Uh oh." Clank muttered, backing up.

Behind him, Ratchet stirred slightly.

Clank backed up into Ratchet, looking around frantically. He pulled out his Geo-laser, and cut down several of the creatures using it. More shrieking erupted as a result, and Clank clamped his hands to the sides of his head. He felt something move behind him, but glancing around, he saw more of them pop up out of the ground behind Ratchet. Turning around quickly, he made Shrieker calamari as they tried to get near his downed friend. Meanwhile, the ones on front of him stalked closer, now about five or six feet away from them. Alarmed, Clank turned around-and had one clamp down on the arm with his Geo-laser on it. He made a startled noise as he felt it gnawing on his arm-he tried shaking it off, but it was way too strong. The Shrieker continued to hold onto Clank's arm for several more seconds, chewing on it as the robot tried to get it off- until it had its brains splatter everywhere as the laser activated inside of it. Shaking it clean, Clank examined his arm, twisting it to see if there was any damage. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it, to his relief.

He suddenly realized that Ratchet was moving away from him.

Out of his peripheral vision he saw the lombax sliding away-strangley in the same position on his side. Clank turned quickly and saw that several Shriekers had grabbed Ratchet's legs and were trying to drag him away. Frowning, Clank ran forward. "Oh no you don't!"

Just as he'd made it to him, out of the corner of his eye he saw the lombax lurch up suddenly, brutally knocking them off his legs with a fisted hand, and most likely giving them brain damage as well. Clank turned his head, already seeing Ratchet quickly wobble up into a shaky standing position. The lombax was holding his right arm to his body with his left. Clank's mouth opened in surprise. He'd known Ratchet to be stubborn and resilient, but he hadn't expected the lombax to recover so quickly from that fall. There _had_ to be something wrong with that...

"Thanks…. pal." Ratchet panted; his eyebrows were drawn together in exhaustion. He looked down at Clank. "Get on my back, so I can... get us out of here. Keep shooting at any of 'em... that come near 'c-cause I don't have any weapons, all right?"

"...Okay. How is your arm?" Clank asked, latching onto Ratchet's back. "Can you move with it alright?"

"…it'll... get better." Ratchet muttered back.

At that moment, they saw hands pop up out of the ground-and they were soon followed by green robot corpses dragging themselves out the ground. Soon, about a dozen of them began moving towards the duo at a explicitly fast rate-for zombies, anyway.

Ratchet uncharacteristically said nothing about the situation, and instead started to run. Or jog would be the right word. Or…speed walking; from his position on the lombax's back, Clank could feel a slight, but definite limp as the lombax slowly pushed forward. He was fast enough to avoid any zombies behind them, but Clank still felt nervous when they occasionally wandered within ten feet of them. Ratchet kept his right arm secured to his side with his left-and as a result, he wasn't as balanced and coordinated as he moved. Around him, zombies began popping up out of the ground. Clank cut them all off using his laser, but they were also fairly quick-

- again, for dead robots, anyway.

"Ratchet, what is the plan?" Clank called.

"I-I think I remember paging my ship." Ratchet mumbled, and despite the situation, he smiled. Clank heard it in his voice as he continued, "I had a bad feeling about whatever this thing Qwark had to show us-so I had my ship tail us as we came here. I had to... keep it out of sight so Qwark wouldn't see it."

"So is it coming?"

"Mhm-it... just needs to find an area that's not... tightly enclosed. Or, a place at a higher elevation." Ratchet said. He took a sudden breath, then stopped and panted for a few moments, bending over. Clank turned his head, slightly worried, but then the lombax continued as if nothing happened. "…both of which, we're currently at." Then his eyes lit up as he said, "Wait... Clank, can't you fly or something? I can't...remember."

"My-oh! Yes, you're right!" Clank said. "I still have the Robo-Wing function that the Zoni gave me. We can use that to get up higher!"

As he switched his arms out, Ratchet paused, then once more cantered to a stop completely, leaning heavily against a wall. He closed his eyes and muttered, "Ugh…Clank, you might wanna hurry….what's this…?"

He lifted up his left leg as a hand popped out of the ground and grasped for it. "Oh, wouldja look at that…" He added, not really seeming to care.

"Ratchet! Jump!" Clank cried, aware of the situation. Ratchet squatted, then produced an awful jump not half as high as what Clank expected. The robot compared its height to that of a Horny Toad's hop-not very high, like five or six inches. But it was good enough, and Clank flapped his wings, carrying them up farther and farther through the mist. Ratchet's eyes unfocused as he stuck his tongue out at the dozens of Robot Zombies and Shriekers down below. "Buh-byeee~!"

"I am establishing a communication link between us and your ship. It is on its way." Clank said.

"Yeah, only problem is-" Ratchet winced again, cradling his arms to his side. "I can't….see anything through this mist."

"Let me take us higher…we should reach were we fell off soon..."

He carried them up for about thirty more seconds until they reached the same cliff face they'd fallen off of. Ratchet fell silent, the complete opposite of what the robot was expecting. No questions about Qwark, no death threats-was he just that injured? Once they were on the ground, Clank noticed how irregularly Ratchet had started breathing-in shallow, short breaths. Was it because of the high levels of condensation in the air? Clank turned his head to the side as he felt the lombax kneel. "Ratchet?"

He got a murmured 'Yes?' as a reply. "Are you all right?"

"I feel my... arms numbing up again for some reason, Clank," Ratchet muttered. "And... my head still hurts from where I hit the rock earlier. At least that's what I _think_ happened..."

"Wait, I thought you hit it side first! I didn't know you hit your head!"

"Yeah, I know I did-I got a bump from it, I can feel it." Ratchet muttered, lifting his left hand up. He removed his pilot cap and felt the area right above his right ear. He flinched. "Ow..."

"Let me have a look." Clank said, and he got off, standing in front of Ratchet as he bent forward. There was indeed a huge bump there-Clank was surprised that Ratchet wasn't complaining more-it was big, swollen, and definitely had to hurt. Clank gently brushed his hand on it-causing Ratchet to flinch away. "Ow!"

"We need to get home so we can look at that." Clank said. "Now, what was that about your arms?"

"I can't feel them."

"At all?"

The lombax slowly shook his head twice. "Nope."

"Can you move them?"

Ratchet paused, then said, "I could five seconds ago."

"I think Captain Qwark may have something to do with it," Clank told him, a bit perplexed;Ratchet was acting a bit…odd. "Didn't you say that you felt paralysis in your arms after he shot your hands on the cliff?"

"Uh, if I did, then yeah."

Clank squinted at him. Yep. Odd. "What do you mean if you did? Don't you remember?"

Ratchet cocked his head, looking puzzled. "Huh?"

"Do you remember?" Clank asked, tapping the side of his head.

"Yes... No…I dunno…"

Odd wasn't the word. More like _senile_.

"Ratchet-"

At that moment, their ship descended out of the sky, landing several feet away from them. "Finally!" Ratchet wobbled up away from the robot, and to Clank's horror, headed for the pilot's seat with his arms hanging limply. The small robot ran, grabbing his partner's pant leg.

"You cannot be serious, Ratchet! I will not let you fly!"

Ratchet slowly turned and looked down, confused. "Huh…why not?"

Clank sighed. "How do you think you can fly a ship if you can't move your arms?!"

"Uhh…"

The next ten minutes passed, in which Clank somehow forced Ratchet into the passenger seat, then finally getting in the driver's seat. "I will drive us to Veldin. Hang on."

Granted, Clank had to stand up to hold the steering wheel and see out the front window, but he managed to expertly pilot them out of Catacrom Four. Once they were in space, Clank glanced over at Ratchet, who'd been unusually quiet. And that was an understatement. At least by now, the robot thought he'd hear something about Qwark, maybe about his injuries-but Ratchet still hadn't said a word. He was sitting still, staring straight ahead into space.

"Ratchet?" Clank called. The lombax continued to stare off into space, as if Clank wasn't there. The robot repeated his friend's name, louder this time, and got the same results. Clank shook Ratchet's shoulder gently, getting slightly worried now. "Ratchet-"

At this, the lombax slowly turned his head to him, his face neutral. For a moment he and Clank stared at each other. The robot felt that something was off about Ratchet's unnaturally empty expression-then he realized. The lombax's pupils were different sizes-one had dilated, almost swallowing the iris, and the other one was constricted. Clank frowned. Where had he read about something like that?

Before he could even remember, Ratchet faced front, then closed his eyes with a small groan and slumped over to the side.

"Ratchet?! Ratch-" Panicked, Clank shook the lombax's shoulder; he saw Ratchet's head hanging limply to the side, resting on the side of the ship.

"_Oh, no_."

The lombax had passed out.

* * *

Kyzil Plateau, Veldin

12:34 PM

Sasha jumped out of her star fighter quickly, landing on the dusty red ground. She took off in a quick jog for the garage in the distance . The three Galactic Rangers that had accompanied her hurried off after her, cocking their guns just in case. The cazar made it to the garage door in seconds, knocking on it quickly.

"_Who is it?!_"

Sasha blinked, briefly taken back by the abnormally hostile tone of the metallic voice through the door. Clank almost always stayed in the middle of the spectrum when it came to emotion, and rarely did he get so upset at something. Sasha recovered, then called, "It's me, Clank! Sasha!"

At this, the door opened a crack, and Sasha looked down to see a bright neon green eye peeking at her from between it. The robot opened the door all the way, gesturing inside. "Miss Sasha, please, get in quickly."

"All right-you two, J31 and H26! Stay outside and keep watch. H22, come in with me!"

The loyal Rangers saluted as they fell into position. "Rodger that, miss."

As Sasha and H22 entered, Clank shut the door quickly, then marched to the back without a word. Sasha and the Ranger looked at each other, then cautiously followed the little robot. Clank disappeared through a doorframe, and as Sasha and H22 came up on him, he turned and said, "Ratchet is in the bed. Please take a look at him."

Sasha entered the room, her face softening with concern as she saw Ratchet lying unconscious on his bed under the covers with an ice pack on his head. His chest was moving up and down at a faster rate than normal, and from there the cazar could tell that even breathing seemed like a chore for him. As she moved closer to him, she heard his breath coming unevenly in short, hard gusts. Sasha leaned forward, seeing the pink tinge on his cheeks. And from what she could tell, he seemed to be having chills, shivering hard every now and again.

In layman's terms, he looked crappy in almost every medical sense.

"What happened to him?" Asking a standard question seemed appropriate for the moment; Sasha sitting down on the bed next to Ratchet. She didn't hear anything from Clank for several seconds, and when she looked over at him, he hung his head, shaking it.

"Clank?" Sasha pressed gently, this time turning to look at him. "What happened to Ratchet?"

"We…" Clank lifted his head up. Getting to the point, he clenched his fists and closed his eyes. "…we were betrayed by Captain Qwark!"

Sasha's eyebrows flew up, and she focused closely on the little robot. "What?! Clank, are you sure-"

"Yes, I am!" Clank cut off, frowning at her. "Let me explain everything."

* * *

"…and when we'd just left the planet, he passed out."

Sasha remained silent throughout the robot's entire story. When he finished, she looked at the ground, pondering.

"I took him here first and put him in bed." Clank told her, now pacing back and forth restlessly. "However, in all truth I do not know how serious his injuries are. At first when we landed at the bottom of that gorge, it seemed like his arm was the only problem-but then he mentioned that bump on his head. Sasha," Clank clenched his fists, "I am afraid that he might be seriously injured."

The cazar looked at him, trying to keep the looming sarcasm out of her voice. Seriously injured was putting it lightly. "From what it seems like, I would say so. Clank," She stood up, and her tone changed to one of the political diplomat she was.

"Pack up. You and Ratchet are coming to stay on the Phoenix."

Before Clank could reply the other robot in the room jumped on his leader's request immediately. "Ma'am, should ah take him to the medical ward once we get there?" H22 asked. "Or do you want me to take him in the transport we have here now and bring the Phoenix down here afterwards?"

"Yes, the latter will do. We don't need to keep him out of medical care any longer than he needs to be. Keep your eye on him, all right, H22?" Sasha asked, standing up. "And hurry back with the Phoenix. We need to get out of here, ASAP."

"Yes ma'am!" The Ranger saluted, then moved with practiced lithe across the room. He pulled the covers back and cradled his unarmed hand underneath the lombax's small form, carefully lifting him out of bed and into his arms. As he left with Ratchet, Sasha addressed Clank. "You two just can't get a break lately, can you? First the news jumps on you about private matters, no less, and now this..."

Clank stiffened. Sasha knew? Well, of course she knew! But she hadn't said anything about it…

"You can say that again," Clank replied, filling his silent end of the conversation. "We have been pestered more than usual these past few days. I am assuming Ratchet did not tell you about the infobot and Aphelion?"

"No, he didn't," Sasha looked down at Clank, a mask of concern already present on her face. "What happened?"

Clank told her, and by the time he was finished she had her hands up to her mouth, shocked.

"What?! Right next to the room you two were in? The door was open? _Aphelion was totaled?!_" She just shook her head, backing up and sitting on the bed again. "I can't believe this! Who could be doing all of this?"

"I do not know." Clank said. "And from what just happened to us, I am beginning to think that we shall trust only a select few."

"Clank, I don't know." Sasha interjected. She toyed with the blaster in its holster absentmindedly as she stared at the ground. "That whole thing with Captain Qwark…something's not right."

"He has proven to be traitorous and cowardly in the past," Clank snapped. "I should not be surprised that he is still taking advantage of us. And I had thought that we were beginning to be…"

"…Clank. For one," Sasha said. She tilted his head up gently, lifting his sad eyes up to hers. "Think to yourself….

"Would he really go and do something like this to you two? Just out of the blue?"

Clank considered. Surely, Qwark would've definitely done something like this to them in the past, and if it weren't for the fact that he already had, then that would've lessened his suspicions just a bit. But…the green superhero had changed. He was still the same with his pompous and cowardly attitude, but as time passed…he had began truthfully helping them. He'd helped them undermine Tachyon's plans, and had accompanied Ratchet while Clank wasn't present with him. Then there came that Ephemeris and Loki Master crisis, and Qwark more or less kept their journey stabilized.

He'd helped even though he really didn't have to.

And then Stuart Zurgo. The superhero hadn't really hesitated to take the enraged former fanboy down, but even that was possibly due to wanting to keep his image positive.

Speaking of positive images…

Clank frowned, suddenly remembering words spoken from Ratchet's mouth at one point in time, towards Zurgo.

_It's not like he's hiding behind a ma-well, maybe he is hiding behind a mask, but he isn't afraid of letting the galaxy know who he really is…_

That's very ironic, considering our current situation, Clank thought. But Ratchet was right. Sasha is right. The Captain had truly formed a link with the duo over time, converting from colleague to…a friend. Yes, that's what he was.

No matter how many times the lombax threatened to kill Qwark.

Though they had never spoken on the matter, they all were subconsciously aware of their ties together. Any outsider would see differently, as if the duo had no special relation to the superhero but Clank knew that Qwark would always have the special…uh, and different bond with them.

_Yes, what am I thinking? I was not approaching this in a rational manner..._

Qwark wouldn't do something like this…

...to his friends.

The robot wondered what Ratchet would say about this.

"Clank, you with me?"

The robot looked up at the cazar, expressionless. "Yes, I am. I was thinking. I am beginning to find it puzzling. You are right-when I think about it, I cannot logically understand why he would do something like this to us."

"And besides the more in-depth reason," Sasha raised an eyebrow.

"Captain Qwark-has been on a business trip to the Bogon Galaxy."

At this, Clank's mouth dropped. "What-what do you-"

"He's been gone ever since last week."

"Last week?" Clank remembered, while he and Ratchet were in the bed:

_Well, I'll just be going and leave you two alone-I have some business to tend to..._

"Business-was that what he was talking about?" Clank asked, staring at the ground in shock. "I thought he was just making an excuse to leave!"

"When did he mention something about business?" Sasha questioned.

"I believe that was…last Tuesday." Clank said, trying to recall. "Yes, Tuesday."

Sasha didn't say anything for a minute, then-

"I saw him leaving on his ship for Bogon last Tuesday. It was weird-he had a bowl of cereal with him."

Clank suddenly got a very bad feeling. Turning to look across the room, he saw the infobot still on its recharging node. He ran over, unhooked the robot, and placed it on the ground in front of him. Sasha watched the little robot carefully, wondering what got him so distressed. Then to Clank's surprise, the infobot opened its eyes, blinking. The first thing it did was zip around Clank in excited circles, nearly making the robot dizzy as he tried to follow it.

"Clank, is that the infobot that was attacked?" Sasha asked in surprise. "It looks brand new!"

"Yes, Ratchet fully repaired it…but I am confused," Clank said, facing her and scratching his head, "He said that it would need to charge for several days...I hope that it still has its memory intact."

The infobot paused, then nodded its head. It sent Clank a message. Clank read it, then said, "You need to recover it? And you're 2.5% of the way done?"

Another nod.

"It seems that Ratchet must have meant that it needed to repair its memory after several days…well, at least it still has the same transmission. It gives us a bit of a head start..." Clank turned to Sasha. "It just needs to restore the file stored on its hardrive. We will have to wait until then." He stored it in his chest compartment. "However, I am saddened to say that Aphelion isn't looking so good." He looked up at Sasha. "Ratchet has been working on her nonstop for at least a week, and I saw only a 6% increase in her repair. I am afraid…he will not be able to fix her."

Sasha kneeled down in front of the robot. "If he can't fix her, we will. You can be sure of it."

Clank looked up, surprised. "What? Sasha, are you serious?"

"Of course I am! It's no big deal, my maintenance rangers will get her up and running again. You can count on it."

* * *

1 Day later

Starship Phoenix

Clank sat anxiously on the edge of his chair, kicking his legs absent mindedly. He was sitting outside of the medical wing, and was waiting for the Doctor to come and tell him Ratchet's current status. The robot sighed. His friends were beginning to drop, one by one, and he didn't have a single clue as to who it really was, or if it was more than one person. And he would have to wait about an estimated five days for the infobot to finish repairing its hardrive.

In Ratchet's words, the situation sucked pretty badly.

"Excuse me, Mr. Little Guy."

Clank looked up, seeing a Galactic Ranger peeking out from behind the medical ward doors. "Oh!"

"Come with me, sir. I've got him patched up real good, but you should know what's happened to him."

Clank hopped down, following the taller robot into the room. "He will be okay?"

"Sarge? Yeah, he will. Don't you worry," The Ranger doctor said, motioning to the bed on the far end of the room. "But he needs to rest from that nasty bump he got on his head."

Clank got closer, his mouth opening in shock when he saw how bandaged his friend was. Ratchet's hands, understandably, were wrapped up because of being shot at point blank range. The lombax's right arm was slung up in a cast; Clank was slightly surprised by this. He didn't realize that Ratchet's arm had been damaged_ that_ badly-even though he should've figured from how it had been held tightly to Ratchet's body. He looked at Ratchet's head and saw that it as well was bandaged, completely covering his head and going neatly around his ears.

"He also had several cracked ribs." The doctor said, handing something brown and leathery to Clank, who took it. "On his right side, like his arm. It looks to me like he crashed into something, hard-arm had a major simple fracture on it, almost became compound as I was looking at it. And-he had a concussion as well."

Clank's mouth dropped. "What? Are you sur-" Then he stopped, suddenly becoming conscious of how reasonable that sounded. Several minutes after the lombax had woken up on Catacrom Four, he'd began acting slow. In the general sense-he'd been a bit late in his responses, at one point failed to recognize the significance of being attacked, and his rationalization was low.

_Hmm._

Never mind the thing about low rationalization.

The lombax was as rash as they came.

But anyway…

Clank thought, tracing his memories back from when he'd read a medical dictionary. Concussion symptoms…

"I remember noting-when I tried to get his attention in the ship, he wouldn't respond at first," Clank said slowly. "-and I had to make contact with him. When he looked at me, it took me awhile to identify it, but something was off with his eyes-"

"One pupil dilated, other down to a pinpoint?" The doctor cut in.

Clank nodded quickly. "Yes, I saw that-and soon after, that's when he passed out."

To himself, he thought, _Not to mention…the fact that he'd been completely ignorant of how we'd just been blown off of a cliff by Qwark was the first major thing I should've noticed. He hadn't even complained about the superhero, not one bit…that's another sign of a concussion-failure to fully understand a situation._

Clank sighed._ I did not know he'd hit his head that hard…_

"I put him on several medications," The doctor said. "Give him about a week or two and he'll be fine. Make sure that you keep your voice down if you're going to come in and be with him, okay?"

Clank nodded, slowly unfolding Ratchet's flight cap. "All right."

The doctor left, leaving Clank alone with Ratchet. The robot climbed up on the bed, going to sit next t his friend. He turned, looking at Ratchet's closed face, then faced front again, shaking his head. "I cannot believe this."

Carefully avoiding Ratchet's right arm, he lay down on his side with Ratchet's cap underneath his head and closed his eyes. Next thing he knew, someone was shaking him awake. Clank opened his eyes and saw that the lights had been turned off-and the outline of someone standing in front of the bed. He sat up quickly, not immediately seeing who was touching him in the dark. "Who is it?" Clank asked, feeling an arm stretching out protectively in front of Ratchet.

There was the sound of a match striking something, then Sasha's face appeared, illuminated by the small candle she held. "It's me, Sasha, Clank."

"Oh. You startled me." Clank said, putting a hand to his chest. "I am sorry for acting so prompt. What time is it?"

"Like, half past midnight. I just came in to check on you two and make sure you're okay." The cazar whispered. "I'll go now so you can sleep, all right? Goodnight, Clank." She swooped in planting a small kiss on the robot's forehead. "And…goodnight, Ratchet."

Clank watched with interest as she kissed, this one slightly longer (by 1.2 seconds, Clank calculated) , on the lombax's cheek. Seeing the robot stare, Sasha chuckled a bit. "What, you want another one?"

"Um, no, that is fine," Clank said, turning to look at Ratchet. "I am just tired, is all. Goodnight, Sasha." He lay down again. Sasha pulled the covers back and placed them over the robot, earning her a surprised look from Clank.

"Just so you won't get cold. And get closer to him, he won't bite!"

"Um, Sasha…you do know that we're not…_together_, right?" Clank asked. She did know, after all...

"Of course I do. I don't believe the crap that the media spouted about you two." Sasha told him firmly. "And even if it was true…well then, that's that. You two will always still be the two knuckleheads I've known."

"Thank you Sasha. That means a lot to me." Clank said, smiling at her.

"No problem…hey, everything'll be all right, okay? Mark my words, we will find the person who's caused this much trouble for you two." Sasha said, heading for the door. "By the way, they're already preparing Aphelion, and it looks like they're making progress on her. She'll probably be ready by the time Ratchet wakes up-and then we can surprise him a bit."

"Sounds good to me."

"Okay, sleep tight, Clank."

She left. Clank sat in the bed, hearing nothing but Ratchet's soft breathing for a minute. He scooted backwards a bit, closer to the lombax. Then suddenly, a plan formed itself in his head.

"I think I will get a head start with finding the culprit."

* * *

"….Yes, we have another case to work on…I apologize for the short notice…but you will assist me? Great-I will be stationed in Metropolis, and I will give you more information there."

…

"Bravo, Hector, Serpentine. _Go, go, go!_ The canary has crashed the ocean liner!"


	3. Dead Ringer

5:00 AM

Metropolis, Kerwan

Big Al's Roboshack

"Your destination is approximately 23 cubits northeast, Agent Clank. I have activated a nearby teleporter that will drop you off behind it. This is stealth based mission, as always. Watch out for anyone and make sure they don't detect you."

"Rodger that. We will tread with caution."

Clank straightened the hat on his head and the fake mustache on his face, teetering slightly out of balance. He looked down. "Careful. We must not let anyone see us. Hector, is that you on the bottom?"

_Yes_, came the digitally sent reply, and Clank responded, "Be careful when you walk, okay? I will keep a watch on the terrain. Serpentine, Bravo, make sure you keep our balance at equilibrium."

The two gadgebots forming the middle of the tower chirped back their answer, immediately silencing as the third small robot on the bottom started moving forward slowly, bringing their casual façade closer to the door. Clank, at the top, made sure that the gray trench coat covering the smaller robots underneath him was securely fastened and the hat on his head shadowed his face.

Slowly but surely, the tower of disguised robots ambled out of the empty workshop and onto the walkway. Clank sighed: Today, of all days, just had to be the busiest one; even at freaking_ five_ in the morning there were Solonians and robots walking around, apparently not taking the air route today. Most of them carried newspapers and/or coffee cups, sipping, talking, and walking at the same time. Clank sighed. Of course. God forbid anything happens to him easily for once.

_Hector, we will be in a crowd of people. However, still move at your normal pace. I do not believe that anyone will bump into us._ Clank communicated to the robot on the bottom. The robot sent a confirmation, then, sensing the ground carefully around him, made his way to the crowd of people walking. Several people, not more than five, gave the sudden, no armed stranger a glance, then went back to their business. Clank breathed a sigh of relief, then focused on the path ahead. The robot tower moved slowly down the pathway, and when the gadgebot on the bottom accidentally came too close to another person Clank quickly alerted him and got them back on path. There were times were he wasn't paying attention, too focused on the mission ahead, and they would bump into someone else.

"Sorry." Clank muttered to the buff-looking robot that they'd crashed into. If the guy so much as sneezed on them they would've been scattered all over the place.

The robot grunted. "Watch it."

After several long and tense minutes of being sandwhiched by other people, Clank finally saw the teleporter that Ms. Bot had been talking about-hid well enough from public eye, but Clank spotted the round, glowing disk peering ever so slightly out from under a bench, the majority of it covered by shrubbery behind it.

_Hector, 2 o' clock_. Clank sent, eyeing the teleporter hard. The gadgebot shifted their path slightly, heading inconspicuously for the bench. They were almost there-

Then of course, something just _had_ to go wrong.

Clank, once again too focused on the task at hand, didn't notice the malfunctioning Robo-mutt barreling down the pavement_ right_ at them. Behind it, a female robot was running after it, yelling at it to stop. All over people were begaining to stop and stare, some moving out of the way. The tower hesitated.

Feeling Hector pause, Clank muttered, "What is wrong?"

_Something's coming right at us, boss! I can feel it!_

Clank rotated his upper body, his eyes widening when he saw the robot dog rampaging at them, coming from behind. He couldn't do a damn thing now that the canine was less than five feet away from them. Barking up a storm, the dog leaped into the air, colliding wildly with the robot tower.

Clank and the three gadgebots were propelled forward through the neck of the trench coat, rolling perfectly underneath the bench and into the teleporter. Luckily, no one had been at the right angle to see the four robots. So now, all they saw was an apparent dead person in the middle of the street. The dog started ripping up the gray trench coat furiously, until there were only pieces left. His owner came and got him, grabbing him by the collar. Everyone crowded around her, looking at the apparent remains of some poor soul who'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was an awkward silence for a while. Then the woman said, "Uh, my dog_ kinda_ hates the color gray…"

* * *

"Oof! _Ugh!_"

Clank and the gadgebots rolled out of the teleporter, crashing in a heap into the back of a building. Sitting up, the robot said, "Well, that could've gone worse."

The gadgebots hopped up chattering, apparently not bothered. Clank herded them behind a dumpster, shushing them.

"Remember, we cannot let anyone see us." Clank reminded them.

"I assume you're there?"Ms. Bot asked.

"Yes, we are behind the area of investigation. We will infiltrate through the ceiling and see what we can find from there."

Looking up he saw that by standing on the closed lid of the dumpster, they could climb up the gutter pipe riding the side of their apartment. He sent this information to the gadgebots, who quickly complied and began hopping on the smaller trash cans by the large one, weaving a way up. Clank himself used his Helipack to get up. As he waited for the gadgebots to catch up, he thought.

_I don't know exactly what we will find here, but I am sure we will find something. After all, even the best criminals leave clues behind, correct?_

He saw three pairs of eyes blinking at him excitedly. "All right," Clank whispered. "Up the gutter. Use the automated grav- function located in your heels."

The gadgetbots jumped on the gutter, landing parallel to the sky. They began clinking up the gutter at a 90 degree angle, finally making it up the side. Clank met them there, then trekked across the roof quietly. He pulled a device out of his compartment, placing it flat in the roof-when he suddenly heard a voice.

Coming from inside_ their_ apartment.

And it sounded familiar as hell, even through the thick roof. Clank paused, listening harder-it was coming from the living room.

Which was _right_ were he was about to drill into to.

Clank moved across the roof until he reached the general area over Ratchet's room. There he placed the device, cutting a perfect hole in the roof. Quietly removing the cleanly cut slice from the roof, he set it aside and Helipacked down onto Ratchet's bed. As he motioned for the smaller robots to follow him, he listened for the voice again and heard it through the open door.

The voice was familiar because he'd heard it recently. As a gadgebot plopped down next to him, he inched over, peering out the open door and hoping to catch glance of him. His mouth dropped. It sounded like-but it wasn't! But it was? How? There was no doubt about it. Sitting there, with his arms folded behind his head and his legs up on the table, was-

"_Ratchet?!_"

The lombax paused, freezing. Then without turning around, he made a deft movement with his right hand, disappearing from view. Clank swore to himself. An illusion!

"Rusty NUTS AND BOLTS-" The robot hopped down, motioning for the gadgebots to follow him quickly under the bed. They pushed to the back, lowering the luminosity in their eyes. They waited, and for awhile, nothing. Clank then heard a faint buzzing sound in the room. Ratchet was right. They _did_ have a bug problem.

_Holo-guise detected_, the three gadgebots sent simultaneously.

_I know. I do not know where he went, though_. Clank sent back.

_Holo-guise detected. In THIS room,_ the robots replied.

_In this room? But I see no one around!_ Clank said back, utterly confused.

In the next second, the sound of footsteps could be heard. The robots backed up farther into the corner as they saw a pair of boots make their way into the room, pausing to stop at the doorway before walking in. A small, but definite 'huh' was heard, but this time Clank noted it was in the voice to match the body.

"Whoever's in here, come out."

Hearing Ratchet's voice several feet away from him, Clank shook his head mentally. _That's not him, that's not him, that's not him…_

_Isn't that Ratchet?_ The curious gadgebots asked, then a stern look from Clank told them that it was some fool wearing a holo-guise trying to play off being his friend.

"Hm. Must've been my…oh, what's this?" The boots stepped towards the bed, then stopped. Clank suddenly realized he'd left a bigass hole in the ceiling. Boy, he would have to work more on this 'working under stress with your best friend in the hospital' thing.

"Why is there a hole in their roof?" Ratchet's voice asked; Clank silently confirmed that this was not Ratchet, but it bothered him even more that someone was disguising themselves as him. And he didn't know who the heck it was for sure.

"…phah, another one of their cheap belongings…and they were wondering how someone could've broken into their house, trashed a snooping robot, and their _annoying_, persistent, too smart for her own good, _ship_!"

Clank's expression of shock changed to one of complete anger. This was him. This was the guy. And he didn't know who he was. At the risk of putting himself and his other friends in danger, he didn't dare to run out and confront this bastard.

This bastard, who kept talking in different voices that didn't match his flippin' body.

What an asshole.

_Boss, you okay? You kinda went OOC for a moment there. Do you need yoga lessons?_ A gadgebot interrupted Clank's apparently silent thoughts; the bigger robot looked surpised.

_I…didn't mean to broadcast that,_ Clank told them, then went silent as the Ratchet look-alike began speaking again. But he heard Qwark's voice.

"I'm actually doing them a favor. I always thought that lombax had a thing for his robot partner."

Clank froze.

Oh he was NOT about to go there….

"I mean, from the way he was defending Clank while he was out training with that beast of a woman, you'd think they were lovers or something."

He went there.

Clank almost blew his hiding spot by jumping up in anger._ Does he mean that he was spying on Ratchet and Helga a week back? How?!And why…were they talking about this?_

"Pfft. About to deny that he didn't like Clank on his back. Please, that robot practically lives there. What a noob!"

Clank felt a hand reaching for his Tie-a-Rang, and he was seriously considering throwing it at this jerk. But then, the fake lombax left for the living room. The living room that didn't even _belong_ to him.

"I guess I'd better rest up here before those losers come back…given their track record of bouncing back from apparently traumatic experiences, I'd say the lombax will be out of the hospital in a week at the least." As Clank blinked in surprise, the imposter's voice changed from Qwark's to…Clank couldn't identify the warped and twisted voice, but it sounded, very very familiar. It was the same voice he'd heard through the roof.

"I thought, that after that whole thing with the Caverns, they'd back off. Looks like I was wrong..."

_'Whole thing with the Caverns?' What is he talking about? The Caverns…._

Then it hit him like a wrecking ball-

Clank's eyes widened in surprise. **NO****_. NO-_**

-and all composure he had up to that point was completely crushed into nothingness as he erupted.

"_YOU'RE the one who sent us to Deprimere Caverns?!_"

At Clank's sudden outburst, the fake lombax spun quickly in the hallway, staring hard at where he'd heard the voice. Clank heard heavy footsteps coming towards the bed, and he cursed himself for being so reckless. The boots stopped at the foot of the bed, then a pair of knees were seen as the lombax stooped down. When the first glimpse of a furred face appeared, peering under the bed, Hector, Serpentine, and Bravo zoomed forward. Together, they gave a single war cry. _CHARGE-THAT-BIIIIIITCH !_

They'd picked up on Clank's emotions and now, _they_ were steamed as well. He watched as they latched onto the surprised imposter's face, making him screech loudly in pain. Clank moved quickly, shooting out from under the bed and passing the grounded lombax, who was wrestling on the floor with three little robots assaulting him as much as they could physically manage to do.

"Clank, what's happening?!" Ms. Bot asked the robot, who was tapping down the hallway towards the door as fast as he could.

"I blew my cover," Clank confessed. "Hector, Bravo, and Serpentine are currently incapacitating him. And now, I need a way out of Metropolis."

"I rewired the teleporter that you came through initially. It should send you back to the Phoenix. Hurry, Clank!"

Clank made it to the door, jumping up to grab and twist the door knob. As he exited he felt himself trip a wire of some sort and then something collide with his legs, tying them together. His momentum carried him forward, landing and sliding on the ground. "_Ungh!_ He must've set up a-"

A shadow fell over him, and he turned around, looking up in fury at the fake lombax who had Ratchet's deadly sneer plastered all over his face. With his right arm, he had the three gadgebots restrained close to his body, permitting them from moving. Clank saw a device similar to a pop gun come into view as his left arm came up.

"Well, looks like I've got you cornered, _Agent_ Clank. Some spy you are," 'Ratchet' said, cocking the gun with his left hand. "And you're no closer to finding out the truth than you were before."

Clank could only respond with a glare, keeping his eyes on the gun pointed right at him.

_I have an idea, guys!_

_Hurry up with it, will you?_

_Yeah, what is it, Serpentine?_

Clank blinked, hearing the inaudible conversations between his partners. What were they planning? He hoped it would get him out of this situation. He decided to stall for time.

"I do not understand. Why are you doing this to us?"

"You two are always getting in other people's ways and ruining their chances to succeed," 'Ratchet' began, falling for Clank's prospect. "You know how that feels, to have your plans interrupted by two galactic heroes?"

"We are getting in other people's ways because they are evil. Not just because we want to."

"Oh, really? Not everyone you've faced is evil. Bad actions, but for good intentions, right?"

"No. Bad intentions for selfish reasons! Our intervening is a test of good judgment, for us and the parties opposite!" Clank shot back. "And you do not even know the half of what we've dealt with. So you don't have the authority to claim what our enemies are thinking!"

The Ratchet look alike scoffed. "You're right. In any case, I can only assume. But given the fact that at least one of your past enemies has apparently turned to your side, I'd say that I wouldn't trust that person."

"Leave Captain Qwark out of this," Clank said automatically, frowning. "He has done numerous distasteful things, but I do not believe that we could have a better ally. I should not have doubted him, and considering how you've been facading as him masked me very upset."

"Oh, so you've figured that part out, huh? Yes, I have been pretending to be that moron." The imposter suddenly turned grim-faced, cocking one eye up. He did such a good impression of the real Ratchet to the point that Clank found it _highly_ uncomfortable.

"I want to know. Why do you defend that idiot when all he's done is get in your way?"

"He has changed for the better. Ratchet agrees, and though he's never verbally said it, Qwark is a valuable person to have in our lives. In the general sense, he is our friend, and has certainly helped us many times. He was with Ratchet when I was unable to be, and I am sure Ratchet was grateful for his company even if he said otherwise."

"Don't you ever think about that crap that he did? He's a buffoon who's done more bad stuff over the years than good. Why don't you just get rid of that dead weight?"

"I cannot stress it any further. He is now our friend, and there is no other way around it. However, I do not know why Ratchet and I are being dragged into this."

The fake lombax sneered. "Revenge, tin can."

"...Revenge? I am afraid I do-"

"I figured since that sap Qwark has a questionable life, then why not drag the lombax and his robot partner down with him? Especially since said heroes have been such a pain in the rear. And what better way to do this than be the so called, somehow famous fool Qwark and spread rumors, complete with a perfectly captured picture? It's perfect."

"So you delve into our personal lives? And claim false things about it?"

"Pfft, false? Yeah, right. You know what? Yes, I was the one who sent you two to Deprimere Caverns, I'm not going to deny it. I was the one who set up that fake death call to that moron Qwark. I wanted to see the losers who ruined my life just in as much pain as I was! As a bonus, I found out that the lombax's greatest fear was losing you. So of course, I decided to use that against you two. He obviously has a close relationship with you, and if you're aware of it or not, I figured that something deeper than friendship must be running between you guys. And looks like I was right."

Clank's eyes widened. _Who WAS this?_

"But, as always, there has to be an end to the fun. I wanted this to be a long-running thing, but I just had to personally screw up and let that snooping infobot spy on me. I destroyed it just because of that. By the way," The lombax smirked. "I got a picture of you and Ratchet in the bed together. It's really cute, I'm debating to release it to the press or not."

By now, Clank was burning with anger. "How dare you! You have no right to intrude into our house and poke your nose into our business!"

"But I did anyway, didn't I? By the way, did I total your ship well enough for you? She was the one who saw me before I used the holo-guise, and I knew she'd blabber. EMPs took care of that, and as you saw, the rest is history."

"You-will pay for this." Clank said, in a tone close to growling as a robot can get. "Ratchet and I will make sure of that."

"No, you won't. You're not going back to that loser. You've already seen and heard too much, so I have to do something about it, right? Like freezing your neuro recptors, therefore putting you in suspended animation and showcasing you as a trophy on my mantle."

"I am not to be used as a object of show. And you will not stop me from going back to Ratchet!" Clank said angrily.

"I know it pains you to leave your lover like this, but with all tragic relationships, it has to end," The lombax finished, then fired the gun at Clank's head.

The robot felt a suction-cup like object close on his head-and then the electricity coursing through his body. He froze on the spot, completely paralyzed, and the last thing he heard before he passed out was a remark from 'Ratchet'.

"By the way, that lombax's ears hurt."

The Gadgebots watched as Clank's eyes drifted shut and he collapsed backwards, knocked out. The fake lombax began moving towards the fallen robot.

_BOSS-Oh, man, now guys! Get him!_

Hector the Gadgebot opened his mouth and crunched hard on the imposter's finger. The fake lombax yelped, dropping Bravo and Serpentine. As he tried shaking Hector off the two remaining Gadgebots made it to their immobilized leader, then lifted him up and started hauling ass to the teleporter in the back. 'Ratchet' turned furiously, glaring after the retreating robots. "NO!"

Hector suddenly saw the barrel of the gun pointed at him; the lombax was trying to stun him like he just did to Clank.

There was a pause-then the Gadgebot dropped off 'Ratchet's' hand, milliseconds before the trigger was pulled. As the small robot tapped to the ground, the lombax swore loudly, shaking his hand. The gadgebot ran for the teleporter, programming it to deactivate as he hopped into it. The glowing disk dulled, and the imposter ran to it, too late. "Damn! They deactivated it!"

* * *

Starship Phoenix

6:00 AM

"Miss Sasha. Miss Sasha?"

The cazar opened her eyes, sitting up in the bed slowly as she faced the Galactic Ranger that had come into her quarters. Agitated, she sighed, "Can't this wait until later? When it's not like, in the wee hours of the morning?"

"Um, no I'm sorry ma'am…we…have several visitors." The Ranger motioned towards the door, where another Galactic Ranger walked in, holding-

Sasha's eyes widened as she saw the small figure lying in the Ranger's arms. "Clank?" She whispered, getting up out of the bed. "Take him to the medical ward, stat!"

"You also have a message from Miss Cute Anastasia Bot, or Miss Bot for short."

Sasha frowned. "She works for the agency-" Then she slapped herself mentally. Clank was in his agency uniform, duh. She shook her head, piecing it together. "What in the world was Clank doing on a spy mission?"

* * *

"Is he all right? I lost contact with him."

"He's doing fine. He was given a pretty bad shock, but he's awake now." Sasha replied, looking at the face of Ms. Bot on her monitor. The female robot sighed with relief.

"Good, I'd thought that he had gotten caught. To think, he wanted to put Clank on a mantel and call him a trophy! The nerve!"

Sasha frowned. "Who's 'he'?"

The robot hesitated. "Well…that's what we were trying to figure out this morning. Clank and his gadgebots were stationed in Metropolis, to scope out the area around their apartment for clues-due to the recent events that I'm sure he's told you about?"

Sasha nodded. "Yes, that's why he and Ratchet are with us now."

"Speaking of Ratchet-the agents infiltrated the apartment and, if I'm led to believe this, Ratchet was in fact in the apartment at the time."

"What-" Sasha began, but was interrupted by a calm voice behind her:

"That was not my friend."

The cazar turned around, seeing Clank behind her, his hands on his hips. He walked forward, in the view of the monitor.

"That was not Ratchet." The robot repeated. "That was an imposter."

"Despite the more obvious fact that the real Ratchet is hospitalized,"" Ms. Bot said. "This imposter-was talking in very ambiguous tones."

"Meaning?" Sasha asked, confused.

"When I saw him the first time he immediately became aware of my presence…well, because I wasn't expecting anybody to be in our house, let alone the person whom I just saw lying in a hospital bed. I saw him make a quick movement with his right hand, and he just vanished," Clank said. "But what I had first noticed-I had heard a voice that wasn't his as we were coming in. It was distorted, but I have heard it somewhere. I cannot place it right now, but as he came into the room we were hiding in, he started speaking in Ratchet's voice. Exact pitch and tone."

Clank frowned, remembering. "He was talking to himself. Sasha," He looked at the cazar determinedly, "This is the person who has been causing so much trouble for us. He was the one who sent all of those fake stories to the press. He was the one who had broken in our house and assaulted the infobot, and he did the same to Aphelion. He was the one who's been masquerading as Captain Qwark. He's the one who put Ratchet in the hospital."

"And you don't know who he is?" Sasha asked, rubbing her temples. At the same time, Ms. Bot and Clank shook their heads.

"No. But mark my words, I will find out. He has gone too far." Clank said, and with that, he turned and marched out of the control room.

* * *

_**A/N**_

_**I just realized I forgot the previews for chapter three on chapter two, but I'll put some up anyway. Here are some for chapter four.**_

_**... **_

_**"Either this is a very big coincidence…" Clank muttered. "Ratchet used his ears to bat away inscets…Aphelion told me that there was a holo-guise that disguiesd you as a inscet…and the imposter said that Ratchet's ears had hurt." **_

_**...**_

_**"HE BETRAYED US!" Ratchet roared suddenly. "I remember now! He shot my hands and made us fall off the cliff! That liar! That COWARD!"**_

_**"Ratchet! Ratchet, you must calm down!" Clank cried.**_

_**"No! NO! Clank, he tried to kill us! I'll kill him!" Ratchet bellowed. **_

_**...**_

_**"Condition? Ratchet…Clank, what…" The ship trembled for a second. "What has happened? Where are we? And why does it seem like you're injured?" She asked Ratchet. **_

_**...**_

_**"I…Ratchet…He was the one who sent us…" Clank muttered to last words, lost to even the lombax's ears.**_

_**"What was that, Clank? He sent us where?"**_

_**"He…oh, Ratchet," The robot looked up, and his eyes met the worried ones of his friend's, "He was the one who tricked us into going to Deprimere Caverns." **_


	4. Slow and Steady

Five days later…

Starship Pheonix

Medical Ward

12:00 PM

Clank sat with his back to Ratchet's, keeping his eyes on the infobot, who was zooming around the room excitedly.

"Memory recovery: 95%." Clank muttered. "Aphelion's repairs: 75%. Almost done…when they're both complete, I'll ask them both what they saw. That should give me everything I need to know." He sat up, turning to face Ratchet, who was still sound asleep. "And we will find out who did this to us."

The lombax still hadn't woken up ever since being hospitalized, but from the doctor's reports he should be awake soon. Clank faced front. He was getting a bit lonely from not hearing Ratchet's voice.

The _real_ Ratchet's voice, that is.

Ever since narrowly escaping Ratchet's imposter, the robot had been rolling the final words he'd heard from him in his head. They seemed to have meaning, but he couldn't make sense of it in the slightest.

_By the way, that lombax's ears hurt._

_He said that right before I passed out,_ Clank thought. _But what on earth does that mean? His ears hurt?_

The robot turned again, immediately spotting the fin-shaped wedges attached to the lombax's head. He was on his side, so the were both resting, the one in his head draped over it while the other was flattened underneath his head. The robot tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. He inched forward, gently grabbing the one that was exposed. And...

Nothing happened.

Clank reached for the other one, pressing his hand down on it. Still nothing.

Puzzled, the robot withdrew his hand. "Okay," He said, "What have I seen Ratchet do with his ears?"

He was aware of how their height on his head was representative of the lombax's mood or health. When they'd first met, his ears for the most part hung off of his head (Clank guessed it was because he was a pretty angsty teenager) and seemed like too much of a chore to keep up. But…they, along with his tail, often twitched when the lombax was annoyed or upset. And, in times appropriate, he often flicked his ears to get things off them or away from them, due to their sensitivity.

"Ah, yes. He does not like loud noises in his ears." Clank said aloud. "That reminds me… days ago, he told me that he had been flicking away insects…"

...

_"How long will he need to sleep?" Clank had asked. He reached his hands up and Ratchet reached down and picked him up. He saw the infobot clearly now as he stood on the table._

_About several more days," Ratchet had sighed, his shoulders drooping. "…he's coming along, but slowly-" Clank saw him bare his teeth suddenly, growling in irritableness as he swung at something with an his ear. "Jeez, we have a bug problem or something? I swear I've had to bat away like, dozens of them this past week (Clank had squinted in suspicion at the lombax). AND I'VE TAKEN A SHOWER."_

_"How many? You've been in the garage for most of the time." Clank had asked._

_"Uh, like…I dunno," The lombax had shrugged. "At least one, I know. But-tell me, what type of bug loves the smell of motor oil, gas, and sweaty lombax?"_

_ ..._

_That is a good question,_ Clank thought. _And he said he'd had to swat bugs away from him for awhile…hmm._

Clank hopped off the bed, thinking hard. Wait, wait wait-that stirred his memories_- Didn't Aphelion mention something about insects?... Yes, I remember-! it was right after that night we had discovered the infobot._

_ ..._

_"And you did not hear anything?" Clank had asked, frowning in thought._

_"No. I didn't hear any noise at all besides the flying cars overhead." The ship had answered. "Some commercial crew passed by here earlier, though-they were loud, even at one hundred feet up. I think they were working on an advertisement for a new holo-guise or something that can disguise you as an insectoid…"_

_"Hmm." Clank had mused. "If you did not hear anything and we did not hear anything, then how on earth did they manage to commit a homicide less than ten feet from us?"_

...

Clank's eyes widened._ Wait_.

"Either this is a very big coincidence…" Clank muttered. "Ratchet used his ears to bat away insects…Aphelion said that there was a holo-guise that disguised you as a insect…and the impostor said that Ratchet's ears had hurt." He stilled suddenly, remembering something else.

"I remember a buzzing noise in the apartment, right after that impostor had disappeared! And then he suddenly came back!" the robot began pacing. "Yes, and if you were disguised as a insect, it wouldn't be to difficult to get around without being seen!" He shook his head, his mouth open in shock. "That's how he got into our house and dismantle our security system, and attack the infobot. He also said that he had been spying on Ratchet and Helga." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. " How else could he have done all this? He would have had to been pretty much incognito."

"Incognito? That reminds me, I have to thank Slim for giving me the number to the number to the pizza place."

Clank turned slowly to face a magnificent grin sitting on his now-awake friend's face, "Ya know Clank, I think you're onto something." the lombax told him. He was sitting propped up on his left elbow; he'd been amused watching the robot ramble on aloud for the past few minutes. As Clank came over and got on the bed, he added, "I did have to swat away a pest or two when I was with Helga. Didn't think much about it at the time, but what you're saying makes sense."

"Ratchet, how long have you been up?" Clank questioned anxiously, completely blowing through Ratchet's analysis. "The doctor said you would be awake in at least another day or two!"

"Yeah, and I see why," Ratchet replied, wincing. He lowered his head onto the bed, rubbing it with his left hand. "Ugh, might've been smart of me to stay asleep so this major headache can go away…"

"No, don't!" Clank raised his voice suddenly, causing the lombax to flinch, squeezing his eyes shut. "Oh…I am sorry, Ratchet. I mean…go back to sleep if you need to."

"What, you want me to stay awake?" Ratchet asked, going cock-eyed. "I will, I know I've been out for almost a week. You've had no one to talk to, have you?"

"Well..uh, I have…" Clank started, but Ratchet's good hand suddenly found a place in his head, shaking it gently.

"Hey, it's all right. I'll ask the doc to give me some pain killers, help get rid of my fraking headache." Ratchet shifted slightly, sucking in a breath as his ribs suddenly took the liberty of hurting. "Ah, geez…broken ribs are the worst things you can possibly have…" Clank watched him shift around for a few seconds, and when the robot figured out that Ratchet was trying to get out of bed he acted immediately.

"No, you will stay in bed!" Clank said firmly, spreading his arms out. Ratchet regarded him mockingly .

"You really think those little twigs are gonna stop be from gettin' up?"

"I would like to see you try, considering how your dominant arm is out of commission," Clank challenged, pointing briefly at Ratchet's bandaged right arm.

"_Yeah_?"

"_Yes_."

At that point, the door flew open, revealing a very solemn faced Sasha. The cazar paused, and seeing Ratchet up and trying to get out of bed, she stormed forward shaking her finger. "Oh no! Oh_ no you don't,_ Ratchet!"

"Wha-oh come on, I just wanted to walk around." Ratchet complained, allowing himself to be pushed back into bed by Clank and Sasha.

"Is he all right upstairs?" Sasha asked Clank, tapping the side of her head. "Because he_ can't_ be serious."

"To be frank, I do not know. He was responding to me, and everything was fine until he tried getting up. His rationalization seems to be generally the same, though."

"Hey, I'm thinking now!" Ratchet said, "I just wanna get up and walk! I'm not gonna let a few broken bones stop me!"

"I am unsure. Shall we call the doctor?" Clank asked.

"D-911, we need you in the medic ward, stat!" Sasha muttered into her communicator. Seconds later the Galactic Ranger popped through the door.

"Yes ma- oh, he's awake! _Waaay_ early, so he's probably not fully right in the head... lemme see here…" The big robot came over, standing next to Sasha. He hovered over Ratchet, who went still, watching him closely.

"Whaddya doing?" The lombax asked, weary. "Don't tell me I need a shot. Yo doc, you're in my personal space, I need space!"

"Restlessness." The doctor muttered.

"No, he is always like that!" Clank said. "Unbelievably so."

"Really, let's see about this…anybody have something that you can unfold or take apart?"

"Oh, here-his flight cap." Clank said, taking it out of his compartment. He folded it up and gave it to the doctor, who then passed it to Ratchet.

"Here, Sarge. You know what that is?" The doctor asked.

"Uh, yeah. I wear it on my head all the time." Ratchet grinned, and his eyes unfocused for a moment as he added, "It's a doily."

"Unfold it for me." The doctor told him, hearing a small snort of laughter come from Sasha.

The lombax looked at the folded piece of leather in his lap, and with his left hand, he made a movement to grab it-but he ended up grabbing air a bit to the left of the object. Squinting, he tried again and again and again until he finally got ten tries later. Sasha, Clank, and the Doctor glanced at each other.

"Uh…ummm_…hm_mm..." Ratchet frowned, quirking his mouth to the side as he tilted his head. He had the piece of the cloth in his left hand, and there he'd paused as if he didn't know what to do with it. He tugged at it gently a bit for several seconds, then he slowly folded it to the right, back to where the flap had been resting initially. "There!" He announced proudly.

"Ah, hah. Lack of motor skills." The doctor announced. "And as it appears, slight confusion."

"Confusion? Look doc, you told me to unfold it and I did!" Ratchet told him, raising his left arm adamantly.

"Sorry, Sarge. You folded it back to where it was-and that was after it took you half a minute to grab a corner of it."

"I do have motor skills!" Ratchet said indignantly. "I'm a rocket mechanic, I use motor oil all the time!"

Next to him, Clank buried his head in his hands.

"Uh oh. This is beginning to sound as bad as the time he was under influence…" the robot muttered.

"What? I didn't know that Ratchet drank!"Sasha said, surprised.

"Technically speaking, it was not his fault. He was led to the bar by the real Captain Qwark, I presume, and the drink that he had was for Solonian species. Not Polarian. Needless to say, it had some very interesting side affects." Clank said.

"Captain Qwark?" Ratchet asked. Everybody looked at him closely. "Did you say…Captain Qwark?"

"Yes, I did. Do you remember him?" Clank asked. He really hoped that Ratchet didn't have amnesia-he did hit his head, after all.

"Yeah, I do…didn't he…invent pocket crocthitezers or something?" Here Ratchet paused, his tongue in between his teeth as he thought; Sahsa and Clank exchanged weirded out expressions, "Wait….I can remember everything up until we went to that planet with him…what was it called?"

"Collective amnesia." The doctor muttered. "At least it's not severe."

"Cat." Clank hinted.

"Cat…isn't that what I am? No, I look like a cat…I'm a lombax," Ratchet said, a goofy smile spreading across his face. "A. LOOOMMMM. BHHHAAAX-"

"The planet, Ratchet." Sasha reminded him, the corners of her mouth twitching.

"Planet? Oh right," Ratchet said, over the doctor's mutter of, "Difficulty on focusing attention…". The lombax paused, thinking. "Cat…four…four cats…"

Sasha looked at Clank. _Catacrom Four, right?_ She mouthed, and the robot nodded. The cazar repressed the urge to laugh as she watched

Ratchet visibly struggle.

"Crumbs." Clank added, smiling.

"Cat crumbs? Did they bake cat shaped cookies there?" Ratchet asked. "I want some. Wait…huh." He frowned, knocking his left fist to his head. "Ahh…Cat crumbs…Four cat crumbs…no wait…uhh…Catapault…Cataquack..."

Here Sasha and Clank nodded eagerly. He was getting closer.

"Cata…cata…cuh-crom…" Ratchet muttered, then his eyes lit up. "_Catatonic Whore!_"

"Medications. Now." Sasha told the doctor; as she turned away Clank could see her face twitching uncontrollably.

"Right on it, miss." The doctor left.

"What? Didn't I get it right?" Ratchet asked, grinning. "It sounds totally right to me."

"Should we tell him?" Sasha asked Clank.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt." Clank said. Turning to face Ratchet, he said, "The planet's name is Catacrom Four. You were close," He added on, seeing the grin fade from Ratchet's face. The lombax turned his head, starting straight ahead.

"Cata…crom…four…" He muttered. "I remember…we went to that planet with Captain Qwark…" He shook his head, then began massaging his temple with his good hand, "And…he wanted to show us…something, right?…but it was…a trap." He frowned, slowly but gradually faster recalling his memories, "A trap. He…" Ratchet's head snapped up quickly, and Clank suddenly saw anger burning in the lombax's eyes.

"Ratchet-!" Clank started, knowing that he was probably too late.

"_HE BETRAYED US!_" Ratchet roared suddenly. "I remember now! He shot my hands and made us fall off the cliff! That liar! That _COWARD!_"

And to Clank's and Sasha's horror, the lombax made a _much_ more violent attempt to get out of bed; in his blind rage he didn't notice how he whapped Clank off of the bed as they tried to restrain him, leaving Sasha to try to push him back without hurting him even more.

"Ratchet! Ratchet, you must calm down!" Clank called from his backside position on the ground. He saw Sasha struggling to keep the lombax under control.

"No!_ NO!_ Clank, he tried to kill us! I'll kill him!" Ratchet bellowed.

"Ratchet, please!" Sasha cried. "Come on-" She placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to pin him down, but to her surprise he shook her off without a problem. "Agh!"

"Miss Phyronix?" A pair of Rangers came by the door, and seeing the situation, they immediately came over to help.

"Whoa, what's with the Sarge? Ow!" A ranger got clonked in the head by Ratchet's left fist.

"Wait-be careful with him, he has broken ribs-"

"Yeah, his right arm, watch that too-ow!"

"Let me go! Let me go!"

"Sarge, come on, we need you to-"

"-calm down!"

"_Oww_www, he hit my thruster coil!"

"Argh, oh-where's the doctor-"

"No, let me at 'em! Get offa me!"

At that moment, the doctor appeared at the door. "Oh, boy…" Seeing the enraged lombax, he reached and pulled out a needle from his side compartment. "Good thing I came prepared…." He readied it as he came closer to the group.

"Miss Sasha-move over a bit, and watch out." The doctor muttered. The cazar moved aside, leaving the three galactic rangers surrounding the lombax. The doctor pressed his right pointer finger down on Ratchet's chest, just to the left of his broken ribs. "Back off you two, I got 'em."

The other two robots backed up from the flailing lombax, who finally noticed the doctor right in front of him. The second thing he registered was the needle in the doctor's hand.

"Needleneedleneedle! _Neeeee_dle!" Ratchet hollered, now trying to move away, but he couldn't go anywhere; his small body was pressed securely under the doctor's finger.

"Just hold still, this won't hurt…"

A low noise of surprise escaped the lombax, intensifying more and more as the needle got closer to his side- then suddenly, Ratchet gave a very sudden and very loud shriek, making everyone in the room flinch from the piercing noise. The lombax took the chance and swiped the needle out of the doctor's hand with his left hand, making it fly through the air and land, skidding on the ground across the room.

"_Blast_ it, Sarge, hold still!" The doctor said, trying to keep the wriggling lombax still. "Can somebody get that-_fast_?"

"No! No! I won't! Not until I kill Qwark! Screw needles, I'm a crabcake mechanic! Where's my doily?" Ratchet babbled loudly.

"Clank! Needle!" Sasha cried. The small robot ran over to the syringe, and after heaving it up he carried it over quietly, so Ratchet wouldn't see him right away.

"All right, all right! We'll let you go kill Qwark, but you can't go until you calm down." The doctor said, inconspicuously motioning to Clank. The small robot moved closer to the bed, getting into position.

"Yes! No needles?" Ratchet asked, ceasing his struggles for a moment. "At all?"

"No. Needles." The doctor said. He nodded down at Clank, who lifted up the syringe and moved towards Ratchet's side. The lombax hadn't noticed him yet, too busy off on another tirade.

"….if I had three Qwark action figures, how much megatons of pyrocidic nitro cells should I use to get rid of 'em?" Ratchet was saying, "None! Cause I'd kill the real deal before goin' to steal…something. Hey what rhymes with real and deal and steal? Cause I didn't mean to make a rhyme but I did. And it's going to bother me if I don't finish it. By the way, are you making reservations for Qwark's funeral? You all should RSVP so you can throw a big bachelor's party afterwards. Wait, you do that at weddings. Who's going to get married? Me and somebody else?" He looked down suddenly at Clank, who lowered the needle quickly, looking innocent. "Are we going to get married, Clank? Are we going to kiss and make out?"

"Uh…I do no think so, Ratchet." The robot answered, deciding to let_ that_ one fly by. "But if you look up at the ceiling you'll find a surprise."

Ratchet looked up, his mouth slightly open as he gaped up at the ceiling. "Huunh? Is it chocolate cake? Or marshmallows? I like marshmallows…"

"It's pointy," Clank answered casually, placing the needle tip carefully on Ratchet's side. "And it'll make you sleepy too."

Sasha covered her mouth with her hand.

"Is it a cactus?" Ratchet asked, still looking up. "Cactuses are pointy. Wait-if it makes me sleepy, that means it's a cactus plus politician hybrid. Because everyone knows that politicians make you sleepy. All that_ blabbering_ they do, yeesh..."

At that moment everyone but Ratchet turned to face Sasha, who looked like she wanted to be the one to inject, no, stab Ratchet at that moment. She sucked in a breath, then gave a strained smile to Clank, who nodded and pushed the plunger in slowly. Ratchet still hadn't noticed yet and was still looking up at the ceiling as if it would open up and drop cactus-politician hybrids down on him. After several moments the medicine began working its way through his system.

"…..hey, the ceiling learned how to dance," Ratchet muttered. "Heyyy, look, it's waving at me too…" He yawned.

"I see it," Clank told him, withdrawing the now empty needle. "Maybe you can marry the ceiling instead of me."

"That's one awesome ceiling…" Ratchet said sleepily. "I think I will marry it…" He lowered his head, and his eyelids drooped. "…after I take a nap…."

"There we go…isn't that nice?" Sasha came over, pushing him down into the bed. This time, he didn't resist. "Good night, Ratchet."

"Nigh' Sasha…hey, Clank, can you get in the bed with me?" The lombax added, catching Clank in his sights; before Clank could even express his utter disbelief Ratchet's eyes drifted shut and his head found the pillow as he finally fell asleep.

"That should do it," The doctor said. "That there is enough medication to keep him out for about twelve hours. Sorry Miss Sasha, Clank. I knew you two probably wanted to talk to him. But, seeing as to how he's still suffering from his head trauma, it's not wise to rile him up in any way. You saw what happened."

"Right." Clank groaned. "I do not think he would've blown up like that if he were in the right mind…"

"Well, in any case, we need to tell him that there's a person running around disguised as Qwark. I'm sure he'll believe us, especially when I tell him that the real Qwark hasn't even been in Solana for awhile."

"Oh, I almost forgot-how close is Aphelion to being repaired?" Clank asked. "I need to ask her some questions."

"She's nearly done. I'd give it two more days," One of the Galactic Rangers piped up. "It was a bit difficult reshaping her back to her normal self, but once we did that we replaced all the damaged and broken parts. She'll be in tip-top shape."

"Good. I cannot bear to wait any longer for answers," Clank hopped off the bed. "I am going to our room for awhile."

* * *

Clank paced back and forth, his hand stroking his chin.

"It seems that I have ruled out how he managed to sneak around us. Disguising himself as an insect and following us around." He stopped, then frowned as something struck him.

"He has been toying with us…that bug that was flying around my head that day-just so happened to divert my attention outside so I could see Aphelion. To show us what he had done. How disdainful…and then, when I was on that mission. The gadgebots said that they had detected a holo-guise in the room-around the time that I heard the buzzing in the room. And then he appeared as Ratchet. It makes sense. It all makes sense now."

The robot climbed up onto the teal couch. "He can somehow disguise himself as Ratchet, Captain Qwark, and an insect. Is that it?"

For a moment, Clank wondered if the impostor could pull a disguise that mimicked him. He hadn't seen a duplicate of himself yet, but that didn't mean that there wasn't one. The thought alone unnerved him.

"I will have to keep my eyes open. In the meanwhile, I can only wait. But while I wait…" For the first time in the past week, he smiled, "…I can start coming up with a fail-safe plan…"

* * *

Two Days Later...

"Hey, Clank, I think this guy's ready to go."

Al brandished the infobot to Clank, and the robot took it. "Thank you, Al. I knew that it needed to repair its memory banks, but you helped speed up the progress."

"_Annnnd_, in addition to that, I augmented its visual processors to recognize the person who attacked it. Holo guise on or not."

"Why, thank you. You have been most helpful," Clank said, storing the infobot. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need some investigating to do."

"Wait! Don't I get paid?" Al called after the robot, who waved his hand dismissively and answered, "Put it on my tab and I'll pay you later."

_Do I even have a tab? _The robot thought, chuckling as left the ship's cafeteria, where he'd bumped into Big Al for some reason. He took that chance and asked the mechanic if he could do anything on the infobot, and now he was glad he did.

"Now, I can finally see a part of what's happening," Clank muttered to himself. "Finally."

He was so busy in his cloud of thought that he didn't notice Sasha calling his name. She caught up with him and touched his head, making him turn around.

"Clank, Aphelion's ready!"

The robot jumped. "Really? Where is the ship hangar? I must speak to her!"

"I'll take you there. But you know who else is ready?"

It immediately clicked in place in the robot's mind and he asked, "Where is Ratchet? I wish to see him first."

"Still in bed. He's allowed to walk around now, but I had to help him get around for a minute before he took a break. His ribs and his arm still hurt, though."

"I am going to the hospital wing now," Clank announced, before glancing behind Sasha and realize he didn't have to. His headstrong best friend was striding effortlessly towards them down the hallway, grinning mischievously as if he did something naughty.

"Hey, tin can!" Ratchet saluted the middle and pointer fingers of his left hand as he moved towards them, "Good to see you, buddy."

"Ratchet!" Clank exclaimed, while Sasha asked, "How'd you sneak past the doctor?"

"I told him that he won the lottery for 10 billion bolts, and he hightailed it outta there before you could say, '_Jackpot!_'"

The lombax still had his right arm in a cast, and even though he was wearing clothes, Clank knew that his side was still patched up. The bandages on his head were gone, and the robot remembered Ratchet's fight cap and pulled it out of his compartment. He held it up to Ratchet, who took it. "Thanks pal."

And then, practical as ever, Clank got down to business.

"Ratchet, I have uncovered information that you need to know. The infobot is done…"

"…and I heard that Aphelion was repaired," Ratchet finished, "So now, we're set for investigation." They briefly smiled at each other, before Ratchet settled on Sasha, "By the way, thank you Sasha. You took us in and helped us when we really needed it. Really, thank you."

"Oh-it was nothing. You guys were in a tight spot. I just couldn't stand by," Sasha replied, standing up and giving the lombax a one armed hug as he approached her. "…now, how about we get down to business?"

Ratchet and Clank once again exchanged grins, then nodded once at each other. "Gladly."

* * *

"Microprocessers online…CPU…online…"

The ship's visual optics activated, for the first time in about a week-her internal clock told her-and the first thing that she saw was her owner's worried face hovering right in front of her nose. There was a gray blur on the corners of her peripherals; she was still booting up and couldn't process everything in her vision. She decided that since Ratchet was there, the gray blur must've been Clank. Now that she was fully awake, she finally noticed that there were several other identical robots, about seven or eight, standing behind Ratchet a few feet back. They were turned to her, so she assumed that they were all watching her as well. A brown-skinned female made an appearance, appearing from behind Ratchet with one hand up to her chin in a thoughtful position. She recognized it as Sasha Phyronix, and she now she wondered where she was-

Wait-

-what was that on Ratchet's arm? It looked like a cast.

"Aphelion? You awake?" Ratchet spoke slowly and softly, his eyebrows knitted tightly together. The arm that wasn't slung up was up in a cautious but gentle position, something she sometimes saw when he was trying to comfort someone.

"I am…at one hundred percent efficiency." The ship replied, testing out her vocal processors.

Here Ratchet sighed with relief, lowering his arm and giving the ship a huge grin. Aphelion noted how much effort it seemed to take him to make these movements; he must've been tired for some reason. "Boy, am I glad! For a moment there, we'd thought that…"

The silvery- gray blur transformed into Clank as it moved closer to Ratchet. "It is a good thing that the Rangers repaired her. You would not have been able to manage to do it, considering your condition."

"Condition? Ratchet…Clank, what…" The ship trembled for a second. "What has happened? Where are we? And why does it seem like you're injured?" She asked Ratchet.

"We've got a lot of things to fill you in on, Aphelion. But the absolute first thing we need to know," Ratchet frowned. "…do you remember anything from when you were attacked?"

The ship paused, searching her memory banks. Then she recalled.

...

_She was sure she'd heard a noise. Somewhere by the front door of Ratchet and Clank's apartment. She didn't think that Ratchet or Clank would be out at this time; the lombax seemed very tired when he had come home with that crazy fitness trainer, and Clank wasn't too keen on being outside out at night._

_So she had decided to investigate. Inching closer to the sound, she began to hear incoherent mumbling-like someone was talking to themselves. And it didn't sound like Ratchet or Clank._

_Now she was even more cautious, not knowing what to make of this new appearance. That was when she saw someone stumble away from the front of the apartment, to the side to where she was. The figure fell to the ground, emitting a nasally, high pitched grunt._

_"Ow! Stupid thing won't work! I need to get this repaired..."_

_Aphelion would've remained silent, not knowing if this person was hostile or not. But he was suspiciously hanging out around her friends' door, and she couldn't help but to wonder what excatley he was doing. And it didn't seem like he noticed her yet. The figure stood up, and even under the bright luminosity of the moon, she could only make out his outline. But he appeared to be of average build and somewhat tall. His ears stuck out on both sides of his head._

_Then, as she watched, he made a small movement with his right hand-then transformed into-_

_"Ratchet?!"_

_The lombax looked up, shock apparent on his face as he finally noticed the ship. "What the-where-how much did you see?"_

_"What do you think you're doing?!" The ship asked. "You're not Ratchet, but you're obviously masquerading as him! What were you planning on doing here?"_

_"I can't get a break. This is the second time I've been caught. And the last." The lombax answered. He reached behind himself, catching Aphelion's attention and making her a bit nervous._

_"What are you-" She stopped, realized that she was wasting time. She had to got tell Ratchet and Clank-_

_Before she could even move, the lombax threw a round, unidentifiable object on her direction. It exploded in a bright flash of light, and she felt her systems shutting down as she shook from the electricity coursing through her. Her monitor winked off and she shut down instantly._

_ ..._

"I…I do…" The ship muttered. "I remember…I saw a part of him."

At this, everyone in the room tensed, and Ratchet, Clank, and Sasha pressed closer to the ship, apprehensive. Aphelion added on, "I only saw his outline, but I could see some details of him. To begin, I heard a noise near the apartment and I decided to investigate. As I got closer, I realized that it didn't sound like either Ratchet or Clank. But, I first saw him when he tripped and landed near me, by the side of the apartment. He was pretty tall... and he had long ears, but anyway... he was…talking to himself..."

"What did he say?" Ratchet asked, frowning as he tried to remember the minimal description. His head was still pounding and making It hard for him to process the tiniest of things. He glanced down at Clank, who nodded; the robot had gotten it memorized.

"…I could only catch a little, but he was muttering that 'something didn't work' and that he would 'need to get it repaired.'"

"Did you happen to see what he was talking about?" Sasha asked her.

The ship tossed a little. "It is only a guess…but I would say that it was the Holo-guise that he had."

"He had a Holo-guise?" Ratchet asked, slightly alarmed. Beside him, Clank nodded in understanding.

"Yes. I know he did because, well..." The ship paused, uncomfortable. "…he turned into you, Ratchet. He waved his right hand over his body and turned into you."

"Me?!" The lombax asked, and his emerald eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Aphelion nearly yelled; she was very upset that someone was pretending to Ratchet and felt as though their personal space was being invaded, "I am sure of it. He even sounded exactly like you. The only reason I knew that it wasn't you, Ratchet, is because I knew you were inside and you were tired after you got home."

Ratchet's mouth opened slightly in surprise, and Clank spoke up next to him: "I think it is time for me to say something as well, Ratchet." Everyone looked at the little robot, who continued.

"Shortly after you were hospitalized, Ratchet, I underwent a…mission," He glanced around, understandably out of pure paranoia of being eavesdropped on, "…with the agency, and I decided to stake out Metropolis and see if I could find any clues concerning the recent turn of events for us. As my squad and I moved in on our apartment, I heard a voice. Inside."

"Inside our apartment?!" Ratchet exclaimed, and he looked at Sasha, who nodded. "Sasha, you know?"

"Yes, Clank told me everything. As it appears, whoever was in your apartment was using…different voices to speak."

"Hm?" Ratchet asked, his head tilting.

"…the voice I heard outside was distorted, but it wasn't because I was listening in through the roof. When I got in…I saw 'you' at the couch." Then Clank paused, seeing Ratchet gain understanding, and continued. "At the time, I knew it wasn't you because I just saw you at the hospital. But shock still overtook me, and when I called 'your' name, 'you' disappeared."

Ratchet said nothing, watching the robot intently, and Clank went on. "When I alerted him of my presence, he, like Aphelion said, made a motion with his right hand and disappeared from my view. Soon after, I concealed myself under the bed, and I didn't hear anything for a few seconds."

"He completely disappeared?" Ratchet questioned. He frowned. "Huh. How could he have done that, I wonder? Unless it was a holo-guise that can make you invisible?"

"Hold on, I am getting to that explanation. But, something odd that I noticed at the time is that my Gadgebots suggested that there was a holo-guise detected in the room we were in. At that moment, I heard a faint buzzing. That leads me to believe that he not only can change into you, Ratchet, he can also turn into a form smaller than most can see without really paying attention."

"A buzzing noise? And he can get around without being seen-" Ratchet nodded slowly as he remembered "I see. I remember you talking about that when I was in the hospital-"

"-that whoever this is has been using a insect form to spy on us and get places without being noticed at first," Clank finished. "I assumed that we had a bug problem like you suggested when we were on Veldin, but it did not occur to me how much of a coincidence at how they always seem to be were you and I are."

"And what we were talking about and doing at the time," Ratchet swallowed nervously, letting this fact hit him. "When I was with Helga…right before I discovered Aphelion…and on Veldin." He bit his lower lip slightly._ How much did he hear me and Helga talk about? Geez, I hope he didn't hear too much...Helga wasn't even supposed to be prodding me for info like that!_

"For me, it was when you were about to come back with Helga," Clank continued, "I heard a buzzing noise, and that is what woke me up from my hibernation mode. Then, coincidentally, it came again when you went to got work on the infobot. I had made tea and I thought that it was attracted to it; when I chased it away, it just so happened to land on the window…"

"…so you could see Aphelion." Ratchet finished darkly. He paused, then asked, "Did you drop something in there? I heard something…"

"Yes, that was when I dropped my cup on the floor, as I went to the window to look out."

"…right before that moment, I heard a buzzing noise in my ear and I knocked it away. I ended up near the window, but I was too busy thinking about the infobot to notice at first. Then I looked down and saw her."

There was silence for awhile, save for the slight whirring of the Galactic Ranger's joints as they shifted uncomfortably in the background. Ratchet turned, walking away slowly in thought. His left hand was clenched slightly.

"It was timed so we would both look out at the same moment," Ratchet said slowly. He stopped. "He's toying with us."

"Precisely. But, it does not end there," Clank told Ratchet. "After I heard him moving around as an insect, he came back in as you. And he spoke in your voice. Not the distorted voice that I heard at first. And he told me to come out. I didn't, of course, and that what when he noticed the hole in the roof."

"There was a hole in the roof?" Ratchet asked, turning around. "I know that I can be clueless sometimes, but I know that I didn't blow a hoe in the roof-"

"-no, I made it to get in," Clank told Ratchet, who looked slightly embarrassed, then the robot chuckled. "However, he openly stated to being the one to break into our house, and disabling Aphelion and the infobot. He has single handedly done these things to us, Ratchet.

"However, he continued on-notably, this time in Captain Qwark's voice. After making some uh, jabs, at our personal relationship…"Clank muttered, remembering with slight embarrassment. "He…." The robot paused, tapping his fingers together nervously. Ratchet wouldn't take this well, he knew. "He was…"

"He was what, pal?" Ratchet asked, coming up on the robot, "Come on, it can't be that bad, right?" Clank saw sincerity in the lombax's eyes, and that made him not want to tell him even more.

"I…Ratchet…He was the one who sent us…" Clank muttered to last words, lost to even the lombax's ears. Ratchet leaned forward.

"What was that, Clank? He sent us where?"

"He…oh, Ratchet," The robot looked up, and his eyes met the worried ones of his friend's, "He was the one who tricked us into going to Deprimere Caverns."

For a moment, Ratchet looked at him blankly; then golden furred lips moved before any sound came out as he said one word: _"What."_

Clank nodded slowly. "He said…that he would stay in our apartment for awhile. That…we had a track record of 'bouncing back' from traumatic experiences. That's when he mentioned being the one who sent us to the Caverns, in hopes that we would 'back off'."

Ratchet had now turned away, facing the wall. He was slightly hunched over, and from several feet away Clank could see him trembling. The robot sighed, then decided to push through; it was tell all of it now or keep Ratchet in the dark about this person.

"I expressed outwards anger at this, and therefore caused my hiding spot to be obsolete. As he was about to investigate, agents Hector, Serpentine, and Bravo briefly held him at bay while I attempted to escape. While I was conversing with Ms. Bot for an escape route, I activated one of his traps and I found that I couldn't move my legs. That was when he appeared as you, and he had my gadgebots incarcerated. They had a plan, however, and so I decided to stall for them. He pulled out something, a type of weapon on me-and that was when I asked him why he was doing this to us. He... asked me how it felt to have your plans ruined by two inter galactic heroes.

The robot shook his head. "I told him that we stop people with evil intentions and…I couldn't make sense of what he was saying. He said that people may have bad actions for good intentions…" Clank stopped, suddenly remembering something someone had told him years ago.

_"…It's not as black and white as it may seem. You can do the wrong things for the right reasons…"_

What Ratchet's look alike said sounded awfully like what Klunk, out of all people, told him years ago. The words had never left the robot's mind, but they had been stirred up by the recent, similar remark. Could it be…

_…no!_ Clank told himself firmly._ Klunk is dead. I know he is. It can't be him._

"…he brought Captain Qwark into this, stating that he has been nothing but a farce to us in the past and we should just drop him," Clank went on. "He asked me why we sided with him and defended him. I told him it was because we consider Qwark to be…valuable as an alley and friend, to counter this imposter's thoughts."

Ratchet said nothing, still facing the wall silently.

"I should not have doubted him. I thought he was the one who set us up on Catacrom Four. It wasn't the real Captain Qwark. It was the imposter posing as him," At this, the only sign that the lombax was surprised was his ears shifting up slightly, but he did not turn around, "The real Captain Qwark has been on a business trip to the Bogon Galaxy for the past week, ever since that uneventful night you came back home with him…a bit crocked, as you would say," The robot paused, giving time for this to sink in. "He claimed for revenge, saying that he wanted to see the people who ruined his life to be in as much pain as he was. The call that Captain Qwark got, weeks ago? It was faked by this person. Just to send us to the Caverns," Clank clenched his hands, suddenly getting angry all over again as he remembered. "He said that he found out your greatest fear Ratchet, and that he would use it to inflict further emotional trauma on you. That he thought that we had more than friendship going on and that he'd found exactly what it was. That is why he is doing this to us, Ratchet. He has been the main cause of all of our problems these last few weeks. And finally... he said that there was and end to all tragic relationships."

A long, drawn breath was taken in by Ratchet, then was released just as slowly.

"That was when he told me that he wanted to showcase me, by freezing the neuroreceptors in my head and rendering me in suspended animation. He did shoot me and render me unconscious, and that is the last thing I remember. I assume that was when I was taken back to the Phoenix by the rest of my squad."

For a moment, the was only silence as the robot fell silent, having finished his story. Then, the lombax slowly revolved on his heel to face everyone. Surprisingly enough, his face was passive, but years of reading Ratchet's surface emotions told Clank that there was rage hidden underneath. He could even hear a bit of it in the lombax's voice, but barely-it was almost like he wanted to lose his temper, but not in their current surroundings.

Ratchet placed his left hand on Clank's shoulder.

"Clank. Promise me this."

"Yes, Ratchet."

"The next time I'm in the hospital, please be careful about the nutcases you go after!" Ratchet scolded, and Clank's mouth dropped; of all things, he didn't see_ that_ coming. "I couldn't have reached you if he managed to knock you out. I wouldn't have even known where you where. Just please, be careful next time, all right?"

Clank blinked. Ratchet, telling him to be careful?

He wasn't dreaming, was he? It's not a dream?

"Of course I will, Ratchet." Clank answered, through his curtain of surprise. "He would have not known I was there had I not made unprofessional mistakes."

"You guys still gave him the slip up, and you're here. And that's what matters," Ratchet told him. "Now, howsa 'bout we see what on that infobot?"

* * *

**A/N**

**Chapter Five previews. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! **

_**... **_

**_Ratchet frowned. "That's the room we were in, what's he doing?"_**

**_"Uh, remember how he likes to take pictures of us?" Clank muttered. _**

**_"…Oh, hell."_**

**_..._**

**_Sasha looked closer at the lombax's cast as he finished his stretch and lowered it; she'd gotten a glimpse of the characters on his arm. "Ratchet, what's that on your arm?"_**

**_"Huh? Oh, this-a message that Clank got from the infobot when he first found it wrecked in our apartment. Makes no sense to either of us," He added as Sasha came and sat down next to him, gently raising his right arm up to see, "…I guess that's why my headache started."_**

**_..._**

**_All right! Time to show you rookies somethin'!" The Ranger said. He placed the notepad on the table, motioning for the others to follow him. They formed a circle around the table, watching the Ranger as he took the pen and ripped off the current page with the two lines of unintelligible mess and set it down._**

**_"Now, ah noticed that this jumble of mess is actually a hidden message. Are you aware of the language used by hackers?"_**

**_Ratchet and Sasha exchanged startled expressions. They faced the Ranger, shaking their heads. Clank paused, nodding slowly. "I have heard of such language, but I do not know how to decipher it. What is it called again?"_**

**_"Well…it's called leet speak, or l33t."_**

**_..._**

**_"Hey everybody! Is this some sort of welcome back party for me? I have to say, it doesn't look very Qwark-tastic to me!"_**

**_..._**


	5. Kuwabara, kuwabara

Ratchet had settled on the couch, crossing his legs with impatience; the pointer finger of his left arm tapped on the arm of the couch. "Uh, Clank? You find it yet?"

The robot had been reaching around inside himself for the past twenty minutes, searching for the infobot. "I am sorry, I have so much stuff on me right now."

"Why's that?"

"I will tell you later, after we get done with the infobot. Ah, here it is!" He pulled it out and set in on the table, next to the VG 9000. Clank ran and jumped, landing next to Ratchet. "Now, if you may show us what you contain."

The infobot didn't hesitate, and it immediately opened its screen for them. Ratchet and Clank leaned forward, already not liking what they saw.

From the infobot's perspective, it appeared that it was situated in their apartment on Metropolis- but that was to be expected; it appeared to be watching something at one of the living room windows, and as they watched, the camera zoomed in slightly to focus on it.

"…Clank, you hear that?" Ratchet muttered. "I can hear a distinct tapping noise, on the window it sounds like. But I don't see-"

He cut off suddenly as he and Clank saw the source of the noise-a shape, looking suspicious similar to a head, suddenly made an appearance in the window. Like Aphelion had said, it appeared that it had long ears. As they watched, the figure carefully made an incision on the window, then removed the single pane, setting it aside. And then it disappeared from sight without a trace.

"Huh!" Ratchet and Clank looked at each other, then back at the screen. A small insect, about the size of a fly, flew in through the window, hovered in midair in front of it, then suddenly it was replaced by a form of greater stature. At this, the camera zoomed out, obviously due to the infobot shrinking back as it saw the new visitor. It was far too dark to make out any other notable features on him.

The intruder moved quietly over to the window, slid the window pane back into to place, and then a suppressed snicker was heard as he unlocked the window and gently raised it. He then moved over to the door and pulled out a device that sparked slightly as he applied it to the lock on the door; electricity could be seen flowing between the device and the lock-which fizzed slightly and went out. The intruder moved in, blocking the infobot's view of what he was doing to the lock. But when he stepped back, Ratchet and Clank saw that the lock had been ripped off.

"That is how I found it." Clank told Ratchet. "Just like that."

The door was opened by the intruder, and the camera quickly shifted behind the couch for cover, panning over as it followed the intruder as he quietly moved down the hallway. There was a moment's hesitation, and the camera moved down the hallway, just in time to see the intruder at the door fame of a room.

Ratchet frowned, as Clank suddenly remembered something. "That's the room we were in, what's he doing?"

"Uh, remember how he likes to take pictures of us?" Clank muttered, and on screen a small flash was seen from behind the intruder. The figure moved away to the room adjacent to the one he was in, and the camera slowly moved forward. Ratchet's eyes widened as he saw the position that he and Clank had been in-he had the robot snuggled to his chest tightly, with his legs drawn up as close as he could to him. "…Oh, hell."

The camera suddenly jerked to the left, away from the door frame. For a moment it was a blur of colors, then suddenly it stopped and focused; it was in the room that the intruder had just went in.

Clank heard a sharp intake or breath from Ratchet, but they both kept their eyes glued to the screen.

The screen shook slightly from left to right, no doubt due to the infobot shaking its head at the time. The camera swung around suddenly, and the prowler now made an appearance, very close by at about five feet. He'd grabbed the infobot and dragged it into the room with him. He spoke at a loud whisper, addressing the infobot: "How much did you see?"

Ratchet tilted his ears forward, listening hard. _That voice…!_

The camera turned to the door, which was visible behind the approaching figure. The electrical device that was used on the door to hack it made an appearance in the intruder's hand, and he pointed it at the camera-which suddenly swung around as the poor robot had tried to escape. There was a sparking sound, then electricity could be seen crackling at the edges of the camera; it froze, then the ground could be seen rushing up at it before it powered down.

There was a pause, then the infobot closed its screen, blinking at Ratchet and Clank with in its usual manner. However, Clank was sitting shocked on the couch, not believing what he just saw, and Ratchet was sitting with a thoughtful expression on his face. His ears were still forward.

"That was rather…appalling…" The robot said aloud. He looked over and saw Ratchet frowning slightly in concentration, looking down at the ground.

"Trying to remember where I heard that voice," Ratchet muttered, feeling Clank's eyes on him and answering the silent question. "It sounds familiar."

"Even then, it was warped so we couldn't tell who it was. But you are right-I just cannot place it…" Clank said. He called the infobot over and placed it in his compartment.

"Didn't you say that it sent you a message or something?" Ratchet asked suddenly, looking over at Clank. The robot nodded. "Yes, it did. I could not make sense of it when I decoded it, though."

"You couldn't? Well, you remember it, right?" Ratchet asked, pulling out a pencil. He held it above his cast, then directed his eyes up at Clank. "Can you repeat it to me? Character for character?"

"Yes. Here goes…"

* * *

Ratchet's eyebrows shot up. "What in the name of Solana is this?"

"Heh heh heh heh heh heh! I told you it was odd."

Ratchet had written everything that Clank had told him down, but he saw what the robot meant. It was just a jumble of symbols, letters, and numbers. The lombax sighed, rubbing his throbbing temple with his left hand; he had a slightly irritated, but pained, smile on his face. The robot noticed.

"Ratchet." Clank said accusingly, turning to him; the lombax refused to meet his eye. "Did you take your medicine today?"

A full second passed in which Ratchet said nothing, only glancing over at the robot, who said, "I knew it!"

"…and here it is…"

The duo turned, seeing Sasha flanked by two Rangers-one of which appeared to be the doctor, who was tapping his foot on the floor, his arms folded.

"Oh, hey doc!" Ratchet said. "Did you pick up your prize? That never existed?" He started chuckling, and Clank couldn't help but to wonder if the lombax was a bit loopy from not taking his medications.

"Why, you little-" The doctor began, then started laughing. "I can't believe I fell for that one. Again…"

"Take this, Ratchet. It'll help with the headache." Sasha told him, pressing a bottle into his hand. Ratchet shook it slightly, wincing at the noise of pills clattering against the side of the jar.

"How many of these do I have to take?"

Sasha looked at the doctor, who stopped chortling long enough to say, "Uh, let's see…ninety seven and half pounds…ah, you have to take a children's dose."

"I do?" Ratchet asked. He looked at the bottle, then carefully found his required amount. "Two of these per four hours..."

"And you better take 'em, too!" The doctor told him. "I don't need you fainting from a headache after you've been through the worst of it. Drink plenty of water so you can get hydrated, and make sure that you get some sleep too. It'll help with the headache…" He paused, doing a thermal scan of his patient. "…what have you been doing, Sarge? 100.2!"

"_Ratchet!_" Sasha and Clank scolded simultaneously.

"One hundred point two? Doesn't feel like it," Ratchet drawled, leaning back and folding his left arm behind his head. "I guess I shouldn't do any hard thinking now."

"Mental concentration does have that affect on those who have had a concussion. You're right, Sarge. Avoid any mental concentration. I know that you're trying to solve a mystery here, but it's for your health."

Ratchet stretched, yawning. "Yeah, well…I think it's time for a cat nap anyway."

Sasha looked closer at the lombax's cast as he finished his stretch and lowered it; she'd gotten a glimpse of the characters on his arm. "Ratchet, what's that on your arm?"

"Huh? Oh, this-a message that Clank got from the infobot when he first found it wrecked in our apartment. Makes no sense to either of us," He added as Sasha came and sat down next to him, gently raising his right arm up to see, "…I guess that's why my headache started."

Sasha read the marked letters and numbers down aloud: "_#4 j00 |_0s3r2 \/\/1|_|_ |\|3\/3r |=1|\|d |\/|3! 1 b 73# 6r3473s7 \/1|_|_41|\| 3\/3r!_" The cazar drew back, blinking in surprise. "What on earth…"

"It does not match any vernacular I know," Clank scooted over next to them. "It is just…nonsense."

The other Ranger present stepped forward, one hand raised. "Wait…repeat all that 'nonsense' again?"

Confused, the cazar repeated the same assortment of characters to the Ranger, who had paused. As soon as she was finished the Ranger said, "I'd get a piece of paper and pen if I were you."

"I have some here," Clank announced, reaching in his compartment and fishing out a notebook; Ratchet handed him the pencil from earlier.

"All right…write this down, excatley how I say it…"

Clank listened to the Ranger, writing down what the bigger robot told him without question. Ratchet and Sasha looked at each other, thoroughly puzzled now; was he onto something?

"Okay…here is what I have," Clank said, then read, "_H4j00l0s3rzw1LLn3v3rf1ndm3!1bt3hgr34t3stv1LL41n3v3 r!_" The robot lowered the notepad. Sasha, Ratchet, and the two Rangers crowded him, looking down at the notepad. Clank looked up. "I…do not understand! I mean, it makes a little more sense now that it is only in numbers and letters, but…"

"All right! Time to show you rookies somethin'!" The Ranger said. He placed the notepad on the table, motioning for the others to follow him. They formed a circle around the table, watching the Ranger as he took the pencil and ripped off the current page with the two lines of unintelligible mess and set it down.

"Now, I noticed that this jumble of mess is actually a hidden message. Are you aware of the language used by hackers?"

Ratchet and Sasha exchanged startled expressions. They faced the Ranger, shaking their heads. Clank paused, nodding slowly. "I have heard of such language, but I do not know how to decipher it. What is it called again?"

"Well…it's called leet speak, or l33t."

"'Leet….speak?'" Ratchet questioned, tilting his head.

"Yes, it means 'elite' in l33t," The Ranger explained, then chuckled at the confused faces of the two organics and robots. "I know, it can get confusing-and that's what hackers want. They want their victims to be left in the dark while getting snippy comments in on 'em."

"Clank, that makes sense! The device that he used to hack our lock…" Ratchet looked at Clank, who nodded again.

"…was the same one he used to override the infobot so he could vandalize it." the robot finished.

"Right! The message that the infobot sent you was a purposely left code by the person who used the device. He wanted to leave his mark! Bad choice, cause," The robot leaned forward, writing furiously, "I was trained to deal with hackers and I

know their language inside out…so let me just separate this so you guys can see..."

He straightened up, swinging the notepad around so the others could see.

"Wait…" Ratchet started looking closer, his eyes scanning the paper furiously. "I'm seeing some…words!"

"I see some as well…" Clank muttered. "How odd…he seemed to have replaced some letters with numbers…

_ H4 j00 l0s3rz w1LL n3v3r f1nd m3! 1 b t3h gr34t3st v1LL41n 3v3r!_

"Shall I continue?" The Ranger asked. The others nodded. "All righty then….I'll decode it all the way now…"

The others waited for about five more seconds, then the Ranger presented the finished message to them. Ratchet, Clank, and Sasha read it at the same time, then looked at one another, speechless.

_Ha you losers will never find me! I am the greatest villain ever!_

"Hey everybody! Is this some sort of welcome back party for me? I have to say, it doesn't look very Qwark-tastic to me!"

* * *

**_"You will not speak unless spoken to," Sasha said dangerously, watching Qwark closely. "Now, you will answer the questions that you are asked. Do you understand?"_**

**_"MMMmmmhmmm…!" Qwark hummed nervously, keeping his eyes on the gun._**

**_..._**

**_"All right." Ratchet said, stepping up, "Question two. What was name of the system and sector we were in, and the planet we crashed on when we were out looking for Clank years ago? And what stopped us from going over that cliff edge?"_**

**_..._**

**_"Clank, ugh…my head…it's still pounding on the left side," Ratchet mumbled,"Augh…it feels like it's about to split open…how long have I been alseep?"_**

**_"Well, let me see. We were ambushed by the same person we were trying to set a trap for, and he knocked you out by striking your head in the side. You did wake up briefly when we arrived here, but then you fell back asleep. So, I'd say…two days?"_**

**_..._**

**_"As if I would fall for that. He thinks that he can outmaneuver us with his lies? How contempting!" The robot paused. He shook his head, "But he still fooled everyone." He raised his head up, keeping his emotionless stare on the door. "But I cannot help but to think that we've met him somewhere. He seems to know us more than a typical person..." Then suddenly, he had a bit of a eureka moment, his mouth dropping as he recalled a previous conversation._**

_I figured since that sap Qwark has a questionable life, then why not drag the lombax and his robot partner down with him?_

_Not everyone you've faced is evil. Bad actions, but for good intentions, right?_

_I wanted to see the losers who ruined my life just in as much pain as I was!_

_It's not like he's hiding behind a ma-well, maybe he is hiding behind a mask, but he isn't afraid of letting the galaxy know who he really is…_

_...he isn't afraid of letting the galaxy know who he really is..._

_...who he really is…_

**_Clank's eyes widened. He'd finally figured it out who it was. _**

**_"Oh my heavens and stars, you have got to be kidding me."_**

* * *

**_A/N_**

**_Another chapter is up. This will be the last one before I start school a week from now. Updates will predictably become slower, but we're almost done with this story, as you can tell from the last preview. _**

**_Something else for you guys to note. I'm beginning to plan a longer, on-going R&C fanfiction. It'll have at least thirty chapters and I want to have at least the first chapter up by the middle of September. So, something to be prepared for :D_**


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